


Camelot University

by TakenByEmrys



Series: Camelot University [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Magic Revealed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-03-09 09:27:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3244577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakenByEmrys/pseuds/TakenByEmrys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and his little sister Freya have been on the run for years, but when Merlin receives a letter from their old friend Gaius, inviting him to Camelot University for his 'special talents,' Freya puts her foot down. All seems fine, but when Merlin meets Arthur Pendragon, how will their years of hiding be shoved into the light? Modern Merthur AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Merthur fic, so please bear with me! My beta was my lovely friend Poppy, for whom this was written for! Pleeeese review

 “Frey! I’m home!” The front door slammed and the girl, Freya, let out a sigh. She had been waiting for him to get back, getting worried with each passing second. She sprung from her chair and rushed to the kitchen. The raven haired man had begun to pull groceries from their bags. He had short black hair, high cheekbones, and stunning blue eyes. Under different circumstances, Freya would had thought him awkwardly attractive, but being her brother… ew. He was tall and thin, but unnaturally clumsy. Freya could see the trip before it happened. She reached out and snatched the jar out of his hand before he went down.  “Thanks Frey,” he said from the floor.

“Merlin you are so clumsy.” He gave her his best goofy smile, and she laughed softly. Her face became hard and stony quickly though. “Now where have you been?”

“Calm down Frey, I just went for groceries. Oh I got the post as well.” Merlin hoisted himself off the ground and took the jar from his sister. She was always a little frail, but lately things had been getting worse. Her cheeks were slightly hollow, but that was made worse by the similarities in their high set cheekbones (though his were much more prominent) and her big sad brown doe eyes. He knew she would run as long as possible, but he was still worried for her. “Okay I need to shower. Sort the post please.” He blundered out of the room before waiting for a response. Their flat was small, but they never really stayed in one place for very long. Merlin’s fear for Freya was too great to lay down roots. He slipped into the shower and let his shoulders relax. Freya was safe and no one knew what they were. As soon as he convinced himself of that, Freya had to ruin it.

“Merlin! Guess what came in the mail!” She practically screamed as she burst into the bathroom. Merlin yelped in surprise.

“Jesus Frey! I am in the shower!”

“Well get out and come look at this!” With that she fled back to- he assumed- the kitchen. So much for relaxing. He got out and quickly toweled off, throwing on a pair of black sweats and a blue t-shirt. He found Freya in the kitchen, just as he predicted, holding a thick parchment envelope. She turned round and smiled wide, handing him the letter. Merlin Emrys was scrawled across the front in black ink. In the top right corner a coat of arms and ‘Camelot University’ were printed. As a 19 year old, Merlin had been looking at many universities, bur he knew they would never be able to stay. Now he held what definitely a letter from a very fancy (Probably very expensive) university. “Why didn’t you tell me that you applied to uni?” Freya broke him from his thought bubble.

“Uh… because I didn’t?” Merlin answered awkwardly. Freya’s face changed as she looked at the envelope with distrust. Merlin took a deep breath and slipped his finger in between the fold, ripping the parchment apart. There were two pieces of paper inside, one white and clearly handwritten and the other, the same material as the envelope. Merlin carefully took out the folded parchment and read:

               

_Merlin Emrys,_

_We are pleased to find that your intelligence and skills have come to our attention. At Camelot University, we strive to make every student succeed in his or her own skill set and you have caught our eye especially. Our herb and medical practice professor has spoken to us of the skills you possess and we are willing to offer you a full scholarship for you to attend. Please let us know by August 1 st if you will be attending._

_Yours Truly,_

_Headmaster Kilgharrah_

                “Okay pretty sketchy. Who is the herb and medical practice professor?” Freya gestured to the remaining letter and Merlin retrieved it, and read aloud:

                _Merlin,_

_I am unsure if you remember me, but my name is Gaius. I was a good friend of your mothers and she had informed me of you and your sister’s predicament and skills. I have spoken to Camelot University, and, if you wish, I will take you as my apprentice in the medical herb practices as well as anything that needs help. Your sister, Freya, and you are welcome to stay with me if you wish. Please let myself and the school know as soon as possible._

_You’re Friend,_

_Gaius_

“Oh! I remember Gaius! He used to come over all the time when we were kids!” Freya exclaimed, clearly excited.

“Frey, I’m not going. It’s too dangerous to stay in one place for too long.” Merlin said softly. He saw her face fall, but it was quickly stone.

“Merlin Emrys this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You won’t look after me my entire life, and you know I’m capable of taking care of myself. It’s your turn to take care of yourself.” Freya looked at him coldly. “You need to do this. For both of us.” With that she turned to find a notebook of paper within one of the kitchen drawers. She laid it in front of him along with a pen. Merlin could tell he would lose this battle, and began to prepare for the things that were going to come. They both took sheets of paper, Merlin writing to the University and Freya to Gaius.

The next few weeks were a blur as Freya twittered about, packing their small apartment, which didn’t take long. The only possessions they liked to keep were their books, and those all fit in Merlin’s car easily. The University and Gaius both returned their letters, exclaiming how pleased they were, and in Gaius’s case, making arrangements for them to move in. As the start of the school year drew closer, Merlin’s shoulders became tenser with each passing day. An entire year was too long in one place, but Freya would hear nothing of it. They were leaving two weeks before the start of the term, and that was final.

When the day arrived to leave, Merlin had no idea what they were getting in to, but he knew nothing but trouble would come of it. And off they were to Camelot University.


	2. Chapter 1

It took almost two whole days for Merlin’s little hunk of junk pulled up to the biggest apartment building they had ever seen. It was practically a mini castle with turrets and everything. An older man stepped through the front door and began walking toward them. He had long white hair and a careworn face.

“Gaius,” was all Freya said before jumping out of the car. Merlin sighed and followed suit. Freya had given Gaius a big hug and was now answering all his questions about the trip. Gaius looked Merlin over and smiled.

“It has been a long time my boy, but you are as skinny as ever. Don’t you ever eat?” Gaius said it jokingly, but Merlin bristled slightly. He was right, sometimes he did not. If there wasn’t enough money, Freya (unknowingly) got everything. He quickly laughed and gave Gaius his best smile.

“Of course I do Gaius!” Gaius’s eyebrow rose to an almost impossible height in disbelief. Little did Merlin know he would get that look a lot in his time at Camelot. Freya smiled and went to retrieve some bags from the car. “Did mother tell you everything?” Merlin shifted nervously from foot to foot. This had been the part he had been dreading. If Gaius didn’t know, things would be bad.

“Yes of course she did. We all have much to discuss. Now let’s move your things upstairs.” Gaius moved to the car and collected some of their things. It took less than a half hour for them to settle into their rooms. The apartment was huge, but thoroughly cluttered with books and vials. Freya looked around appreciatively as she perched on the sofa. Merlin stood next to her as Gaius collected some books. Merlin watched in slow motion as Gaius nocked a large beaker of purple liquid off of a table. Reacting instinctively, his eyes flashed gold and the beaker froze in midair. Gaius froze and quickly turned around to find the liquid suspended within the beaker. “What spell did you use?” His voice was a sharp whisper.

“I didn’t use a spell?” Merlin said with confusion. Gaius’s gaze snapped up to look at him.

“Interesting. Merlin my boy I do believe you’ve saved all of our lives. That was highly explosive.” With another flash of gold Merlin righted the beaker and Gaius practically fell into his armchair. “You two must know, you have come to an extremely dangerous place.” Merlin’s eyes narrowed. “But there is a rather large underground network to help those such as yourself. The headmaster, Kilgharrah, is the leader of this network. You will be taking lessons with him as well as myself and your other classes. Kilgharrah is a very powerful warlock, not a sorcerer. From what I see of you two, you are also a warlock and witch. You were born with your powers, you did not learn them as I did. They are your instinct, as Merlin just demonstrated. With us, you will both grow and strengthen your powers to become possibly the greatest witch and warlock the world has ever seen.” Gaius finished his monologue to find Freya beaming and Merlin being skeptical. _Well this is might be a bit difficult_ , Merlin presumed. “You have to be careful. Uther Pendragon is a wealthy benefactor to this school and he will have spies everywhere.” Merlin made a strangled noise.

“Uther Pendragon? As is THE Uther Pendragon? He who has been secretly moving against us for years?” Gaius nodded. “Freya it’s time to leave now.”  
“No.” Merlin’s head swiveled. “You need this Merlin. You need to find friends and you need Art- to stop running. Gaius and Kilgharrah will protect us if we need it. We will be staying.” Merlin overlooked her word shift, thinking nothing of it, and gave her his best pleading look. Gaius however, didn’t ignore the word shift, and gave her the eyebrow. Freya pointedly ignored him, focusing on Merlin. “No, we need to live normal lives Merlin.” He finally gave in and collapsed on the couch next to her.

“Fine, we will enroll you in the local high school. Happy?” Freya smiled with delight. Gaius was smiling as well.

“There is the local Avalon High.” Freya and Merlin both snapped to attention.

“You’re kidding right? Not THE lake of Avalon correct?” Merlin’s eyebrow shot up just as much as Gaius’s.

“Well the locals feel this odd energy in this city, so yes. THE lake of Avalon. I’ve never been myself, but I know it I nearby. Kilgharrah can feel it you see.” Freya and Merlin were shocked, but Freya’s lips soon curved into a satisfied smile.

“That just shows this is where we are meant to be.” She said definitively.

“Yes, well be that as it may, you both need sleep for tomorrow. I bid you goodnight.” Without so much of a glance back, Gaius retired to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i said Tuesdays but I'm super excited about this fic! please review!


	3. Chapter 2

The next morning dawned cold and dreary for Merlin, with someone (probably Freya) banging away on his door. He left out a loud grunt as he tried, and failed, to get out of bed normally. He instead ended up face first on the hard wood floor. The banging finally stopped when he hit with a loud thump.   
“I’m coming Frey, just give me a sec.”  
“Fall out of bed again?” She snickered rather loudly. “Hurry up though, Professor Kilgharrah is on his way over.” Merlin grunted his reply and hefted himself off the floor. He quickly threw on a nice dark pair of jeans, a soft blue tee, and his red neckerchief, emerging from his room just as a loud knock came from the door.   
“Ah Merlin, good you’re prepared for Kilgharrah arrival.” Gaius said appraisingly as he rushed by to get the door. He opened the door and there was a medium height man with wild, windblown white hair and a matching scruffy beard.   
“Hello Gaius!” The man said, opening his arms wide with a smile.   
“Kilgharrah my old friend, come in, come in.” Gaius ushered him in quickly. Kilgharrah strode in the small apartment confidently, but stopped when he spotted Merlin. His smile grew wider as he let out a chuckle.   
“Hello young warlock.” He strode over to Merlin and stuck out his hand. Merlin shook it tentatively, but held his eye contact. Another chuckle escaped the man’s lips. That was the moment that Freya took to make her appearance. Appearing from nowhere next to Merlin.   
“Hello Professor Kilgharrah, I’m Freya, Merlin’s younger sister.” Kilgharrah made eye contact with her and both of their eyes glimmered with humor, with a giggle escaping Freya’s lips. Merlin and Gaius glanced at each other, Gaius with his eyebrow raised.   
“Well Merlin congratulations on your acceptance to Camelot University. Since you have a ‘special’ major, we will all be working hand in hand to ensure your class schedule and progress.” The Professor turned back to Freya and engaged her in conversation as they made their way to the couch to sit down. Gaius beckoned Merlin to the kitchen where they made drinks silently. They passed Kilgharrah a whiskey, and Freya a large glass of her favorite grape juice before joining them.   
“Professor Kilgharrah was telling me of how he thinks your training should progress.” Freya said happily.   
“Yes young Warlock, I believe that to master every lesson, is when you are able to teach it. So we will hit two birds with one stone, if you will, and you will teach Freya what you learn. We will all track your progress. But you must keep in mind you have to take all of your required classes as well. You have an interesting destiny ahead of you young warlock.” Kilgharrah said mysteriously.   
“My destiny?” Merlin asked.  
“Oh yes Merlin a great destiny, a constantly flipping coin.”   
“Very mysterious. Anything without riddles?” Kilgharrah only chuckled at that. Guess not.  
“Well it has been good meeting you all. I will have your schedule ready personally when classes begin.” Kilgharrah rose from his chair, shook hands with them all, and departed quickly.   
“Well he is… interesting.” Gaius said ponderingly.   
“Bloody confusing that’s what he is.” Merlin replied grumpily.   
“Delightfully confusing.” Freya grinned. “Now c’mon it’s time to go enroll me in school.” She hopped up and practically skipped to her room.  
“This is going to go wrong very quickly.” Gaius said worriedly. Merlin nodded with a sad expression on his face. He rose from his chair and followed Freya to her room, not without tripping over at least three things on the way there though. Gaius chuckled to himself. “An interesting destiny indeed.”  
“Frey what in the hell are you two plotting about?” Merlin asked as he stomped into her room.   
“Nothing Merlin,” she said softly. She grabbed a simple red fabric bag and turned to him expectantly. He jerked his head to the door and they made their way out of the flat. The drive to Avalon high was shorter than Merlin expected, but it still made him nervous to send Freya.   
They checked in with the student office, and were told to wait in the lobby. It was posh and well lit, with medieval paintings and decorations everywhere. A tall dark haired man in a steel suit walked down the hall towards them. The sound of his leather shoes reverberated of the walls.   
“Hello Mr. Emrys, I am Agravaine, the headmaster of Avalon High. We will begin out tour now and then Miss Freya, correct?” Freya nodded. “Will choose her classes.” He led them through the entire school, highlighting all of its features and accomplishments. When the tour was finally over, even Freya was dragging her feet. I know the layout of the school and the greatness. Move on! She thought to herself. They ended up in Agravaine’s office, with a large computer screen in front of them.   
“Virtually everything is open, so we can put you anywhere you like.” Freya looked over the list of classes, and chose simple core classes, English, Mathematics. Then to Merlin’s surprise, she choose Medieval History of the Surrounding Area, Elemental Science, Divination (What school offers divination?), and mechanics “Perfect! I have locked in your schedule, and we shall see you at 8:00 am on September 1st.”   
They left half an hour later with dread. “That was interesting.” Freya tried. And failed.  
“Interesting? He wouldn’t bloody shut up!” Merlin exclaimed, throwing his head back against his seat. Freya grinned at him, and he couldn't help but grin back. “Excited?” He knew the answer, but her reaction is what’s good enough for him. Her eyes glowed gold with anticipation. “Calm down Frey, we don’t want something… interesting to happen.” He gave her his big goofy grin and she laughed, but her eyes returned to brown.   
The following week was a mess of trying to learn from Gaius and preparing for their first day of school. Merlin was constantly worrying over Freya, but had to spot when Gaius hit him over the head with a bucket, telling him he needed to worry about himself too. The day finally came. Freya was on her way to a bus, and Merlin was left to stare longingly at the door. Gaius stood in the kitchen, eyebrow up waiting for Merlin to make a move. When he didn't Gaius sighed and grabbed his arm.   
“Come now Merlin, we have a big day as well.” He hauled the gangly boy out of the room with little effort.


	4. Chapter 3

Merlin followed Gaius through campus to the freshman orientation. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited. The campus was packed. Students running to and fro, getting their schedules. It was all stop and go. But that makes the world go round, he thought to himself. He caught glimpses of professors as well, running along to get to their first lessons and orientations.   
“Merlin, please do be careful,” Gaius warned, before shoving him into an already crowded auditorium. Merlin scanned the room and saw Kilgharrah and Gaius taking their seats on the stage with other adults. Merlin assumed the rest of the adults were teachers. He took a seat in the back, next to a tall, very pretty, girl. She had long black hair, sharp, possibly dangerous, features, and large green eyes.   
“Hi,” he said with a grin.   
“Hello,” the girl replied softly.   
“Merlin Emrys,” He stuck out his hand, which she hesitantly took.  
“Morgana le Fay,” she replied. She didn’t look him directly in the eye, instead keeping her vision downcast.   
“Nice to meet you Morgana le Fay,” he gave her another goofy grin. She looked up and froze. Before Merlin knew what was happening, she was giggle profusely. That only made Merlin’s very goofy grin wider. “Hah I made you laugh,” He said with an accomplished air.  
“Yes you did indeed. Not very many can, but there is something about you Merlin Emrys.” Morgana smiled shyly. “This is my first year, my brother is a sophomore.”   
“Mine as well, my sister is a senior at Avalon high.” Morgana nodded and smiled. Well at least I made one friend today, she thought. Before she could reply, Kilgharrah was standing and starting to begin the orientation.  
“Welcome all of you to the University of Camelot. We have spoken with all of you, so you will each be given a mentor, some will be given two, depending on what you are studying. Each mentor will set their own times to meet with you, either as a group or individually, depending on how they see fit. Now remember, some of you have very much you will be studying, finding a balance is the only way to handle it all.” He looked directly at Merlin as he spoke, though how he could see him, Merlin had no idea. “Those who I am mentoring, we have already spoke, and you will go with your other mentor to tour the campus. Each professor will read their list of names, and we shall begin.” A pretty women in a bright red dress with long stingy dark hair stood.   
“My name is Professor Nimueh, my list includes Morgause, Mordred, Valiant...” Merlin zoned out, only catching certain names. At one point a giant of a human stood up to the name Percival, and then he was back to day dreaming. He only paid attention when Gaius stood up.  
“I am Professor Gaius, would Gili, Morgana, Lancelot, Elena, and Merlin please join me.” Merlin stood, and Morgana rose with him. She smiled at him as he let her pass, in front of him. Gaius was waiting for them at the back entrance of the hall.   
“You must be Miss Morgana,” Gaius said as they approached.  
“Yes sir, pleasure to meet you.” She inclined her head and smiled politely, but that was all. Merlin smiled at Gaius, who rolled his eyes. Morgana looked between the two, but said nothing. They were soon joined by a Spanish looking man, with long shaggy dark hair and kind brown eyes.  
“Hello, I am Lancelot.” He shook their hands as they introduced themselves, and then introduced himself to the lanky boy, named Gili, and the blonde, Elena, as they approached. The small band made their way across the campus to a large brick building- Gaius’s store rooms, office and classrooms within. There were a few comments from Gaius here and there, but nothing like Avalon High’s tour. As if Gaius could read his mind, he spoke.  
“Much less time consuming as Avalon’s huh?” He said as they entered a near empty classroom. Merlin snorted his distaste.   
“Ughh! That was like two hours!” Merlin grumbled. The rest of the group looked between them, but kept their thoughts to themselves. They all took seats around a round table.   
“Now that we are all acquainted, I will be setting up group meetings as well as individual sessions. I believe that we should all get together at least once a week, how do Monday evenings here sound?” The entire group nodded their approval. “Good and I will see you all to make sporadic individual meetings. As your mentor, please feel free to come to me with any concerns or questions that you have. Now here are your schedules.” Gaius passed them around, Merlin’s last, coming out of a thick manila envelope. It read:  
8:00-9:15 Herbal Medicines w/ Gaius MWF  
10:00-11:30 Extensive drawing w/Nimueh MRF  
1:30-2:30 Calculus w/ Alice MR  
3:00-4:00 Medieval History w/ Kilgharrah MW  
On the bottom, written in elegant cursive, “Please come to my office at 12:00 each Friday –Kilgharrah” Merlin looked up to find Gaius looking at him. Merlin nodded and Gaius sat back in his chair. The entire group was looking over their schedules, Morgana leaned over to look at his schedule.  
“Cool we have drawing and history together.” Merlin grinned and she laughed again.   
“The ‘R’ on your schedules stands for Thursday. Don’t ask me why, Professor Kilgharrah is slightly more than crazy. Well you are all free to go. It is 8:45 and seeing as you are excused if you have a class now, you don’t have to worry about that, but you are expected to attend your lessons the rest of the day. Farewell, unless you have me.” The entire group rose to leave except Merlin and the Spaniard, Lancelot. “Come along you two, we must go see the rest of our class.” Gaius led them down the hall to a large round lab-like room. There were two person tables with stools and microscopes at each. There were only about 10 more students in the class Merlin noted. Lancelot and he took seats next to each other in the back row. “Welcome to Herbal Medicines, we will be looking over our syllabus, and then, since our freshman held us back, we will start on everything tomorrow.” The remaining half hour flew by and Merlin took as little notes as possible. Before class ended, Gaius called him over.  
“When does Freya get out of school?”   
“3:00, I texted her my schedule and she is going to meet me here for dinner at 5:30.” Gaius nodded then shooed him back to his seat.   
“So Lance, what are you studying?” Merlin asked as he sat down.  
“I don’t know really. I’m just sort of trying everything till I see what I like best. Merlin correct?” Merlin nodded, with his big goofy smile. “What about you?”   
“Well my two main classes of the semester are drawing and this class, so who knows maybe a double major. I’m interested in both.” Lance nodded with a smile.  
“Okay everyone get out of here.” Gaius half bellowed. There was still 5 minutes left, but he had nothing left to say. The class left gratefully and Merlin and Lance parted ways. He still 50 minutes until drawing started, so he took his own tour around the campus, eventually deciding he needed more coffee. His three cups this morning had not been enough. At a small café, he ordered 32 oz. of pure glory, with caramel and chocolate in abundance. It was short lived however as he turned to leave and 6’ of pure muscle ran into him. His coffee went everywhere, staining his blue t-shirt, but thankfully missing his scarf.   
“Watch where you’re walking freshman,” the man sneered. Merlin looked up from his stained shirt and found himself staring into an abyss of blue. The man had soft blonde hair and unmistakable blue eyes.   
“Easy friend, it is you who ran into me, spilling my coffee if I might add.”  
“Do we know each other?” The man sneered.  
“I’m Merlin,” Merlin put his hand out, but Arthur interrupted.  
“So we don’t know each other. Yet you called me friend, we are not friends.” The man was getting on Merlin’s nerve more and more.   
“No my mistake, I could never be friends with such an ass.” He spat back with a grin. The entire café was silent now, Merlin wondered why.  
“I’ve been trained to deal with scum like you since birth.” The blonde sneered again.  
“And how long have you been training to be a prat?” Merlin countered.  
“Excuse me? You can’t speak to me like that! I own this school freshman.” Ah that explains the silence.  
“Oh I’m sorry! How long have you been training to be a prat my lord?” Merlin heard a few snickers, which made his grin even wider. The man’s face was tinged pink with anger, but he quickly turned it to a vicious smile. Merlin didn’t get to hear the retort, because there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Morgana. In her hand was a tall 32 oz. cup of coffee. She handed it to him, without a word. He took it, very confused, and then he heard a betrayed grunt from behind.   
“Well, well, Merlin Emrys, still full of surprises I see. I haven’t seen someone make him that angry since father threw away his favorite toy car. Please keep in mind that was when he was 15.” Morgana’s voice was smooth and calming. “Sorry my brother can be such a… prat as you say.”   
From behind him, Merlin heard a whispered “Morgana¸” but ignored it. She leaned around Merlin.   
“You owe me for the coffee. Don’t be such a child Arthur.” She looked back at Merlin and held out her arm. “To drawing then?” Merlin nodded and set off with her, but not before twisting around to grin at Arthur. He noticed that Arthur, and the entire café were silent, staring perplexedly at Morgana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay Arthur made his appearance! I couldn’t just eliminate their meeting from the show, so I just decided to parallel it.


	5. Chapter 4

She led him out the door and across campus to the art building. “I am truly sorry about him. He… well our father taught him to be better than everyone else. Do you have an extra shirt?” She eyed the huge stain with distaste.   
“Did he not teach you the same thing? And yes thank god Frey was going crazy this morning. Hold on,” he slipped into another small café and found the bathroom quickly. He, very sadly, replaced his shirt for another and ran back to Morgana.   
“Much better and oh yes, but I repress is because I know it drives him crazy. That is why I’m usually so reserved and laid back, though it half kills me.” Morgana looked around gloomily.   
“I think there is a big difference between taking on leadership and putting yourself above everyone. They do not always go hand in hand, it just depends on how you handle your leadership abilities. Which you very well possess, seeing as how you took control back there.” Merlin ended with his goofy smile, which made Morgana glow with happiness.  
“Well Merlin, you do sound very wise indeed.” She grinned back and pulled him the last leg into the art hall. Well it seems we are off to a very good friendship, they both thought at the same time.   
The class they went to was huge. There were tapestries and paintings lining the walls, along with sculptures and other odd assortments of, Merlin assumed student made, pieces. Their professor sat in a high back chair with a large dark wood desk in front of her. Merlin vaguely recognized her from the orientation, Nimueh. Her pretty blue eyes were bright, in contrast with her almost deathly pale skin and long dark hair. Merlin smiled as she rose from her chair.  
“Hello, I am professor Nimueh, please take a seat anywhere.” She gave them a kind smile, but her eyes did not match her voice.  
“Morgana le Fay.” Morgana held out her hand and Nimueh took it. “This is Merlin Emrys.” Merlin nodded and smiled, but he was filled with ice cold dread when he thought he heard Nimueh say “I know.”  
“Ah yes Merlin Emrys, Kilgharrah has spoken very highly of you,” Her eyes were cold and dead. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” he thought to himself. Nimueh winked, and that just made it worse. He put on his best smile, unknown to him it was his goofiest. Nimueh shooed them away to find a table. Merlin dragged Morgana as far away from Nimueh as he could, claiming he loved the light by the window, on the other side of the room. They plopped down on metal stools and began to wait for class to start.  
“So are you being mentored by Kilgharrah?” Morgana asked suddenly. Merlin nodded. “And you know Gaius?”  
“Yea he is an old friend of my mother’s and he let my sister and I move in with him for a while. Speaking of, do you know of any jobs on campus? Seeing that your brother “owns” this school.” Merlin gave her a sly look, which made her laugh.   
“Actually yes. The coffee shop at which you just entertained us all is hiring, and they would love to hire someone who would deal with Arthur.” Morgana smiled at him.  
“Ya think Morgana? Morgana is a mouthful, how about Morgs?” Merlin asked hopefully. Morgana nodded, eliciting another goofy grin from Merlin. “Morgs it is! Anyway, yea I’ll go there after classes.” Morgana couldn’t answer due to the fact that Nimueh had stood.  
“Okay, it looks like most of you are here, so we are going to start. I’m Nimueh, or Nim if you prefer, and everyone is going to take some paper and in this class period I want you all to show off your skills. I want to see where we are starting and where we can go with each of you. Put your names on the back. Use any medium you wish. Good luck!” She ended with a smile and returned to her desk. Morgana’s eyebrow rose.   
“That’s it?” She questioned Merlin. Merlin shrugged and grabbed two pieces of paper from the middle of the table. Morgana took a small metal case out of her bag and opened it. Merlin looked over and saw that Morgana had stuffed the most drawing pencils possible into the tiny case. “Feel free to use one,” Morgana said with a smile. Merlin returned her smile, damn they smiled a lot. He took a 5H graphite pencil and they both set out to their drawings, laughing and giggling occasionally (mostly about Arthur). And that is where Arthur found them, when he came looking for Morgana. Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice.  
“Hello Professor Nim.” His voice rolled across the room, smooth and authoritative. “If I could please intrude, I must speak with my dear sister.” Nim smiled and blushed lightly.  
“Of course Arthur dear, how could anyone refuse you,” she purred. Arthur smiled and sauntered over to their table, only to stop dead in his tracks, when he saw Merlin. His eyes were glued to Merlin’s hand, where Morgana’s pencil rested in the crook of his finger. He was broke from his reverie when Merlin couldn’t contain his laughter any more. His laugh was loud and goofy, with his grin stretching from ear to ear. When he finished, his smile refused to leave his face. He turned to Morgana, who laughed.  
“It has been a long time since I’ve laughed,” turning back to Arthur, “That was bloody nasty. Flirting with Nimueh?” His eyebrow rivaled Gaius’s.  
“I don’t have to answer to you,” Arthur snarled turning to Morgana. “Father is coming into town tonight to have dinner with us. We need to meet him at 5 o’clock at Leon’s”  
“Hah coincidence, my sister and I will be there as well. Maybe we will see you there,” Merlin interrupted with a smile.   
“Oh! Maybe you could join us?” Morgana asked. Arthur’s jaw dropped, literally.   
“We couldn’t, it was Frey’s first day of school and I want to talk to her about it. We haven’t had a lot of time together, moving in with Gaius and all.”  
“What?” Arthur was taken aback with that. “You live with Gaius? You’re the nephew he told me about?”  
“What? I’m the only male who lives with him, but nephew?” Merlin’s face shifted and twisted into a scowl. “Nephew,” he whispered to himself.   
“Uh… okay, Morgana meet us for dinner please, and look nice,” he finished lamely. He gave Merlin one last distasteful look before leaving.   
“Merlin, did you not know you were Gaius’s nephew?” Morgana prodded. Merlin shook his head.  
“I don’t even know if I am. My mum died a while back, so I really don’t know.” Merlin focused back to his drawing. It was a huge dragon, brown and gold, and… old? Merlin didn’t know how, but this dragon was familiar, from his dreams. He knew the dragon was old and wise and never very helpful. But in the dream the dragon was family.   
“It’s amazing Merlin,” Morgana said breathlessly. Her eyes were wide with awe. Each line was light, but clearly showed the basic figure, and then slightly darker shadows and appendages. He smiled and glanced down at hers. Merlin was taken aback. It was a man. Tall and dark, surrounded by a giant castle. It was mostly greyscale, but there were shots of gold and red threaded through the entire piece. It was so much like the dreams he had had.   
“Holy crap Morgs, that is beautiful. The gold and the red are perfect!” She blushed crimson.  
“Thank you Merlin. I have stacks of papers filled with this style.” Morgana gave him a shy smile.   
“Okay please put your name on the back and stack it on my desk before you leave,” Nimueh called from her desk, not bothering to look up from her sketching. Merlin jumped to his feet and gave Morgana a smile.  
“Well I must be off to Calculus. But I will see you in history,” he said curtly, before half running from the class. That had been one embarrassing moment after the other as soon as Arthur had arrived, but the main thing, Gaius’s nephew?!   
Calculus passed slow and easy. Merlin had always been fine when I came to math. It came easy, plain and simple. History on the other hand was interesting. Professor Kilgharrah spoke as if he was really at the feast of King Arthur’s name day, which he began to talk about after a careless student brought up food. Merlin was beginning to find Kilgharrah very puzzling. He would never tell you the answer to your question, instead making you more frustrated and having to think to figure it out. In some ways it could be slightly endearing, but sometimes… no. Morgana made small comments and tried to make Merlin smile and laugh as much as she could, but it wouldn’t bring Merlin out of his daydream. She was beginning to worry for her new friend. Friend. She thought to herself. Having a friend is new. I opened up to him so easily. There is just something about him.  
Nothing she did worked. When the class ended, he bid her polite farewell, telling her he hoped he would see her at dinner, and dashed from the room. He went straight to the café and asked if they were hiring. Upon seeing who it was, the store manager began buzzing excitedly.   
“No one can ever handle Arthur. You are definitely the person we’ve been waiting for!” She giggle when he grinned, and blushed when he laughed. “I’m Aithusa! It’s nice to meet you!” Her long silver hair bounced behind her.  
“And you as well,” Merlin shook her hand and smiled again.   
“Can you start Thursday? We can work out a set schedule then, but how about 5:30 am?”   
“Sounds perfect!” He politely shook hands again and left the café. It was still only 4:30 pm so he started a trek to find Gaius. He had a lot of explaining to do.


	6. Chapter 5

Merlin found Gaius in his apothecary like store room. It was only 5:00 pm, so he still had a half hour before dinner.  
“Ah Merlin my boy, I didn’t expect to see you until tonight. What can I do for you?”  
“Well Gaius I’ve met some interesting people today. Mostly, nice but interesting. As were some of the things they were saying,” Merlin began calmly. Gaius pulled out a large jar of leaves and plucked a handful. He sat down on his work bench and started to finely chop and measure them.  
“Oh and who were these people?” Gaius asked, engrossed in his measuring.  
“Morgana le Fay and Arthur Pendragon.” Gaius’s blade froze.  
“I see, and what were they saying?”  
“Well Arthur, a prat of a man, asked if I was the nephew you had mentioned. And I, not knowing how to reply, didn’t.” Merlin was slightly less calm now.  
“Ah, well that was a good decision to not answer then, not knowing.” Gaius flailed for something to say.  
“So? Am I that nephew you mentioned?” Merlin’s eyes were thin and critical, waiting for the answer. Gaius sighed and set down his knife. His face was sad and worn. Merlin’s featured softened at the sight. This man was slowly becoming like a father, possibly something legitimately related.  
“Yes, you are my nephew and Freya is my niece.” Gaius kept his eyes on his half chopped herbs.  
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Merlin was now very, very less than calm. As he asked, a few bottles in the shelves behind Gaius exploded. Merlin dove for Gaius and tackled him out of the bench. The glass pieces flew in every direction, many landing where Gaius had been sitting and one particularly sharp piece slicing across Merlin’s neck as he tackled Gaius. Merlin and Gaius landed on the ground with a thud.  
“My god Merlin! We have to work on that!” Gaius exclaimed, getting to his feet. Merlin was a little slower to rise. The glass cut had been quite deep and blood had already began to flow from the wound. Gaius noticed the amount of blood on the floor and looked at Merlin, who was paler than usual. He jumped into action, scraping the herbs he had been cutting into his hand and shoving them in Merlin’s cut. Merlin screamed in pain. The leaves literally began to burn as they touched his blood, cauterizing the wound, painfully.  
Across campus, two figures, Kilgharrah and Freya felt the scream and cringed. The scream of pure, unexpected pain. Freya burst into tears as the image of her brother came to her mind. But another heard the mental scream as well, in her lavish flat, as she was slipping on the emerald gown she would wear for dinner.  
Freya collapsed on a nearby bench, shaking with tears. A tall blonde ran over to her as he saw her collapse. He went to put his hand on her shoulder when she balked, jumping from the bench and walking backwards away from the man. Freya looked up and down the man’s body, there was something so familiar about him.  
“Are you okay?” The man asked. His voice. That’s when it clicked.  
“Yes I’m fine.” Tears were still streaming down her face. “Can you tell me where to find Leon’s? I’m meeting someone for dinner.”  
“Yes, I am on my way by there now, I can show you?” He offered slowly. Who knows what this girl would do, he thought to himself.  
“I would appreciate that very much.” Freya’s tears were beginning to stop and she tried to sever the magical connection with Merlin. The blonde moved aside and let Freya fall into step next to him.  
“Might I inquire why the lady was crying?” He put forth his most charming self.  
“I received a text about my brother, he was hurt.” Freya continued to compose herself as they walked.  
“I’m very sorry to hear that, will he be alright?”  
“Yes he should be, it was not as bad as I originally perceived, and he should still be able to join me for dinner.” Freya and Merlin’s connection was now at a minimal. She could still tell he was in agony, but she did not feel it herself.  
“That’s very good,” The man steered her toward the only large and posh restaurant on campus. ‘Leon’s’ hung above the entrance in curling red letters. “Well here we are. I hope your brother is able to join you soon,” the mad bowed his head curtly and held out his hand. “It was nice to meet you…” He trailed of waiting for an answer.  
“Freya,” her lips curled into a knowing smile as she reached to take his hand. “It was nice to meet you as well Arthur Pendragon. Thank you for steering me in the right direction.” Freya removed her hand from Arthur’s and turned toward the restaurant, leaving a stunned Arthur in her wake.


	7. Chapter 6

Merlin’s back cracked loudly as he rose from the floor. Gaius was sitting at his bench, cutting more herbs.   
“You are lucky I had just cut Fireflower leaves. You would be dead had I not.” Gaius stood from the bench and took Merlin’s head in his hands, twisting it to see the cut. It was a nasty deep red, and was beginning to pucker into a nasty scar. “There isn't much I can do at this point. People will wonder how you just got a new scar, but after you go out you can’t use magic to heal it. Then they will be suspicious. The Fireflower has also restored your blood count. An interesting little plant.” Gaius then looked at him sternly. “When you get home from dinner, we will work on your control.” Merlin’s eyes went wide.  
“Oh no! Dinner! What time is it!?” He yelled, frantically trying to look for his backpack, but Gaius pushed him back down.   
He pulled out a slightly rumpled white dress shirt, and black trousers. He ran to the back of the room and opened a cabinet to find a nice, clean suit jacket. He snatched it off the hook and ran.  
“It’s 5:30, but Merlin the scar!” Gaius yelled as Merlin sprinted out the door. Merlin neither heard, nor cared. He had to get to Leon’s. He sprinted the entire way there, only stopping at the bathroom to change, and skidded to a halt in front of the restaurant. Morgana stood in front of his with a very peculiar expression on her face. Her face shifted as she saw the red cut.   
“Merlin!” She exclaimed. The man she was standing next to turned round and Merlin realized Arthur, clad in a dark black suit. Merlin noticed the top button was carelessly left open. He looked back to Morgana and noticed her gorgeous emerald gown. “What happened to your face?” Morgana was still in shock. The red line was slightly puckered, but she could tell it was fresh.  
“Erm… bottles and Gaius… I have to go.” He slipped past them and into Leon’s.   
“Well that was odd.” Arthur said.  
“Yes very…” Morgana had an uneasy feeling, like she had seen Merlin’s cut before.   
“Well he will probably be late. Do you want to wait in the bar?” Arthur proposed.  
“Yes I guess we should.” Morgana sighed and glided toward the door.  
Merlin spotted Freya as soon as he entered the restaurant. She was sitting in the bar, sipping what looked like whiskey. Her expression was scaring any men who dared go near her. Merlin’s Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed. She did not look happy at all. He strode over and took the stool on her left.   
“Scotch, neat.” He told the bar tender. It took a minute before Freya set down her drink. “You know, you’re only 17 right?” Merlin asked.  
“Well living with you throws out all age laws.” He voice was cool and her stare was icy. “Now what in the bloody hell happened!” She was outraged, but Merlin could see the concern in her eyes. The bartender put Merlin’s drink in front of him, who nodded a thanks.   
“I was with Gaius and I became very angry, in turn bottles flew. I tackled Gaius, because most of the glass was flying for him. And that’s when I got this.” He pointed to the cut. Freya nodded, prompting him further. “I lost, a lot of blood, so if I pass out, I’m sorry.”  
“Why in bloody hell would you pass out,” a deep voice asked from behind him. Merlin froze with his drink halfway to his mouth. “Odd I never took you for the scotch type.” Merlin turned to find Arthur, as Morgana had already taken the stool next to Merlin.  
“Why I would pass out is none of your business,” Merlin answered.   
“Ah quite the contrary, as your friend, I am obligated to know.” Morgana said. Her voice was confident and smooth. Freya leaned around Merlin to stare curiously at Morgana, who blushed and drew herself back in. Arthur watched his sister in awe. Merlin didn’t miss the look Arthur was giving Morgana and raised an eyebrow. Arthur noticed but shook his head slightly, as if saying ‘Not now.”   
“Anyway this is my sister-”  
“Freya!” Arthur said loudly. Merlin and Morgana both paused and looked at him.   
“Arthur and I met earlier. I was trying to find my way here, but then Gaius texted me,” Freya explained to them. She gave Merlin an icy look. Clearly Gaius never texted her. “And you must be Morgana, Arthur’s sister.” Freya smiled warmly at Morgana who returned the smile shyly.   
You know too much, Merlin teased in his mind. Freya nudged his shoulder and smiled.  
What else happened? She asked.  
Gaius shoved Fireflower leaves into the cut. Which in turn- Merlin began.  
I know. I saw. Freya interrupted. Merlin slipped his arm around her waist and drew her into a side hug. Only a few seconds had passed, so Morgana and Arthur didn't notice their silence.  
“How old are you Freya?” Arthur asked curiously. Merlin looked around and found the bartender on the other side of the room. He nudged Freya to answer.  
“Seventeen.” She whispered quietly. Morgana continued to sip her drink as if it was nothing, but Arthur glared at Merlin.  
“Why are you letting her drink ? For that matter, why don’t your mother or father know about this?!” Arthur’s eyes flashed as he spoke. Freya froze at his words. She didn't have to look at Merlin to know what was there. She could feel it. Rage, pure and wild swirled within Merlin. Arthur thankfully stopped talking. Merlin’s anger was practically coming off in waves.  
“I let her because she is more mature and aware than her age group usually is, as well as most of the adult population. She is very capable of fighting her own battles and making her own decisions as an adult. Freya is not a child, but an adult that had to grow up too quickly without any parents. I did my best, but I think I did pretty damn good if she is the result.” Morgana’s eyes were glazed and glistening as she put it all together. Arthur was shocked still.  
“Merlin I’m-” he began, but Merlin turned away.   
“Shall we get a table?” Merlin interrupted, turning to Freya.  
“No I think it’s a good night to curl up on the couch, plus I found something I want to show you.” Freya replied. She stood from her stool and drank the rest of her drink. Merlin followed suit, but turned to Morgana.  
“I shall see you tomorrow then?” Morgana nodded, but threw her arms around his neck before he could protest.  
“He is such an ass. I am truly sorry and apologize for his behavior.” She whispered in his ear. He hugged her back, but quickly extracted himself with a small nod of the head. Freya led the way to the bar’s exit. As they walked out, a tall, older man walked through. He had a commanding demeanor and held his head high. Merlin felt his heart increase in speed as he recognized the man. It had been nearly five years, but he would recognized him anywhere. The man looked at Merlin as they walked by with a tilted head. He turned back and snatched Merlin’s arm.   
“I am sorry, but do I know you?” Merlin looked into the man’s steel grey eyes, wishing his eyes would change color.  
“No I’m sorry I don’t believe so.” Merlin removed his arm from the man’s grasp and held out his hand. “Martin Earl.” The man shook firmly.  
“Uther Pendragon. Nice to meet you. Have a nice night.” Uther turned to find his children staring. Merlin glared in Arthur’s direction as well as at Uther’s back before following Freya out the door .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And of course Arthur fucks it up. Aw well hope you like it so far! Pleeeease review!


	8. Chapter 7

He found her huddled around the corner of the restaurant. She was shivering and her teeth were clattering. Merlin entered her shadowy corner and held out his arms. She slammed into him, tears already streaming down her face.

“Thh-aat was him-m wasn’t it?” She was normally so collected, Merlin hated to see her like this, but it was an internal conflict for him as well.

“Oh yes my dear. The dreaded Uther Pendragon has made his appearance.” Merlin rubbed her back as she sobbed into his shoulder. “Come on let’s go see what you want to show me.” He gracefully picked her up bridal style and carried her down the lane. As they walked away, what they didn’t see was the emerald fabric hidden behind the trees and shrubs.

Merlin carried Freya for a few miles, following her directions to a large wooded area. Halfway through the woods, she sprang from his arms and ran ahead. He followed as best he could, but tripped over a large protruding root. He heard Freya giggle and swung himself up.

“Okay, I see how it is!” He ran in her general direction laughing. They ran for over an hour, throwing spells and sparks at each other. They only stopped when they came to the edge of the wood. Merlin had long discarded his suit jacket and shirt, shoving them in his bag slung over his shoulder, only to replace them his coffee stained shirt, which Freya then removed the stain from. Freya had used magic to change as well, much to Merlin’s chagrin. The edge of the wood curved around a huge beautifully blue lake. “Avalon,” Merlin stated. Freya nodded. She walked down to the lake and sat on the slightly rocky shore. Merlin did the same and put his arm around her. “It has been quite a day.” Freya smiled.

“And just think, it was only the first.”

“Ugh! I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it. Pendragon is such a spoiled prat.” Merlin grimaced.

“Nah he likes you. If it helps he’s gay.” Freya smiled as Merlin shoved her away.

“Now you don’t know that.” He scowled.

“Oh yes I do. I also know you were shamelessly admiring the lack of his top button.” She pointed out.

“Frey! How do you know these things?” Merlin was blushing crimson.

“Well Gaius said I’m a seer. Kilgharrah said I’m a rare kind of seer. My visions are specific. Specific to you actually.” She explained.

“And you didn’t tell me because…?”

“Because you can’t know. I can’t tell show you anything I see because of what might happen. I can guide you, but you have to do things your way. I’ve seen how things would change if you just did exactly what I told you, and I don’t like it.”

“Okay. I will try to listen to your advice as much as I can.” Merlin nodded his understanding. Magical means were always so much more complicated than normal life. “So how was your first day of school?” That started Freya. She spewed non-stop about how great the school was and how she made friends with a girl named Gwen. Merlin’s heart grew as she talked. He had never seen her so happy, maybe roots weren’t such a bad thing. She was almost deflated by the time she finished.

“And how about you?” She returned.

“Made friends with lovely Morgana le Fay, beautiful artist by the way. Met Prince Prat, who spilt my coffee all over me, and then demanded an apology. Morgana bought me another one though. Nimueh, my art professor, is creepy. I learned something very interesting about Gaius. I was going to let him talk to you, but now seems good. I learned from the Prince that Gaius’s nephew is in town.” Freya looked surprised.

“He never said anything about seeing his nephew!” She exclaimed, worried they had gotten in his way.

“That would be because his nephew lives with him.” Merlin was sure she stopped breathing.

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

“I now understand the glass.”

“Yep.”

They sat in silence and Freya digested the knowledge. “Okay,” she said with a nod.

“Okay?”

“Okay. C’mon let’s get back.” She stood and held out her hand. He pulled himself up and they began the long walk back to Gaius’s.

“Oh! I got a job!” Merlin exclaimed, clapping a hand to his forehead.

“No way!?”

“Yep, little café. I start at 5:30 Thursday morning. Soon we will have our own little flat space.” Merlin smiled down at his Freya. She had grown so fast and so strong. Her smile matched his.

“Roots?”

“Oh yes, there will be roots. But I want you to know, that if our magic is revealed, we have to run.”

“No especially with Uther Pendragon afoot.” Freya leaned into his warm side. “Race you to Gaius’s?” Before she heard his answer, Merlin was running. She ran after him laughing and trying to catch up, sending more spells his way. They returned to the flat sweating and laughing, as Merlin’s hair had turned from black to midnight blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty please review


	9. Chapter 8

As Merlin and Freya made their exit from Leon’s, Arthur was numb. Merlin’s words shook him a lot more than he would ever let on. Something about the skinny, dark haired man raising his little sister was unsettling. Merlin was only a few years older than Freya, how much of a childhood had he really had. He could never imagine raising Morgana. Before he could think more on the matter, Uther entered the bar, and much to Arthur’s surprise, stopped Merlin. When Merlin looked up, he saw something that couldn’t be true. Merlin’s extremely defined cheekbones were almost nonexistent, with his cheeks rounder. But most untrue were his eyes. Their beautiful blue had been replaced with a dull brown. The unfamiliar man met Uther’s grasp and spoke a few words before Uther turned back to his children. Arthur met the glare the man, now normal Merlin, sent him.   
“Arthur,” Uther shook his son’s hand. “Morgana,” he shook hers as well. “Sorry I’m late, shall we get a table now?” Morgana stood from the bar stool.  
“Yes of course father, you two get a table, excuse me I must use the ladies room.” Morgana exited the bar gracefully, and only Arthur noticed she went nowhere near the ladies room. Uther led the way to the host, who in turn, led the two men to a lavish booth near the back of the restaurant.   
“How have you been Arthur?” Uther was curt, but not kind. Arthur’s well-being was more of a formality than anything.  
“Very well and yourself.”   
“Perfectly content. Although work is becoming harder in the embassy each day. Have you still not grown out of the notion that you are gay?”  
“No father I have not, and it is not something you grow out of.” Arthur answered exasperatedly. Uther’s mouth twisted into a grimace, but Morgana chose to make her appearance at that moment. Uther didn’t know her that well, but Arthur could see something was troubling her. Uther smiled warmly and gestured for her to sit own. She took the empty seat next to Arthur, somewhat crowding his personal space, but Arthur dared not move. The look on her face told him this dinner needed to end soon. “Father and I were just discussing how long it will take for me to grow out of being gay.” He gave her a nice easy open.  
“Father, there is no way for someone to grow out of that. It’s not going to happen and he should have come out long ago.” She then turned to Arthur. “And I might have met someone who you might be interested in.” She sent him her best smile and Arthur internally cringed, he knew exactly who she was talking about.   
“Oh really?” Uther snarled from across the table. “Please tell us about this man. Whose family does he come from?”  
“He’s tall, very good looking. Intelligent. I met him in drawing. I believe you would enjoy his company very much,” Morgana purred. Arthur blushed a brilliant scarlet.  
“That’s it, Arthur you must grow up now, this foolish game is over.” Uther stood from his chair. “Until you see fit to find better company in your life, I think it would be much better if you no longer join us for dinner. Morgana.” Uther stood from the table and put out his arm, as if she would take it.  
“No way am I leaving Arthur. Father your quarrel is not just with Arthur but me as well. You must learn to accept your children, no matter what they turn out to be.” Morgana stood, but only to take Uther’s seat across from Arthur. “So Arthur, what are you getting?” Uther’s glare could have killed. He stalked from Leon’s without another word.   
“Holy crap, guys what did you just do?” a voice said next to the table. They looked up to find the owner, Leon.   
“Well Leon, Morgana just put Uther in his place.” Arthur smiled at his sister.  
“Nice going Morgana!” At Leon’s words, Morgana blushed a deep scarlet.  
“Okay, as a celebratory thing, dinner and drinks on me. Oh and I’m assigning the newest waiter to your table so be nice.” Leon sent another charming smile Morgana’s way and departed.   
“So, Leon huh?” Arthur asked sternly, hiding his smiled behind his menu. There was no way Morgana could have blushed more than she already was, but she managed it. “So what did you find when you went outside.” Arthur put down his menu and Morgana followed suit.  
“I went to find them. You saw it too right? That wasn’t Merlin.” Arthur nodded and she continued. “Well I did find them. They were around the side of the building and Freya was sobbing in Merlin’s arms. I only heard a snippet, but what they said was odd. Freya asked if that was him, and Merlin told her it was the one and only dreaded Uther Pendragon.” Arthur was quiet for a while, mulling over what she had said.  
“Well you will just have to find out.” Arthur said looking back at his menu.  
“You mean we correct? I’m not stupid Arthur Pendragon, I know when someone is getting under your skin, in a good way.” Arthur’s skin turned a nice pink. “He may piss you off, but you know you want to get to know him better, especially after he stood up to you.”   
“Morgana, what happened to you? In one day you are shy, and talk to no one, except me, and now you are outspoken, have an opinion, and completely adore this boy!”  
“I don’t know, there is just something about him, I can’t put my finger on it.” Morgana tilted her head thoughtfully. “Where is out waiter?”   
“Right here my lady,” a deep gravelly voice said. Morgana jumped and turned to look into the man’s round, cheerful face. His hair was long and straggly, a brown that matched his warm laughter filled eyes. “I’m Gwaine, can I start you off with any drinks tonight?”   
“Yes Gwaine,” Morgana batted her eyelashes at him. Arthur was shell shocked one more. What is it with this Merlin? Morgana was flirting with someone she has never met, and Arthur couldn’t deny Merlin looked very, very nice in his suit. Gwaine turned to Arthur.  
“Oh I’ll have just a scotch, nothing to eat.” Gwaine nodded and took their menus.  
“You still owe me for the coffee.” Morgana smiled sweetly.  
“I’ll buy you dinner,” Arthur sighed.  
“I already expected that.”   
“Okay what do you want?”  
“Be nice to Merlin. He could obviously use more than one friend, and you two just might push each other to the perfect point.” Morgana smiled. She was doing a lot more of that. Gwaine appeared with their drinks, and Morgana’s beautiful seafood fettuccini. Arthur had to admit, Leon produced the best food around, even if he would never tell Leon that. When Morgana was finished, Arthur tried to pay, but Leon swooped in at the last second and took the check away.  
“Leon!” Arthur grumbled.  
“Oh no! This is a joyous occasion, now go find that boy Morgana was talking about and take him to dinner.” Leon and Morgana both smiled maliciously.   
“You two shouldn’t be sticking your nose in places they shouldn’t be! And besides, that would never happen.”  
“Oh please, denial will do you no good brother dear. I saw your face when he almost ran into me. And when you pissed him off.”  
“Arthur we have known you your entire life. As your best friend, I know when you’re full of it.” Leon shrugged with a smile. “This weekend we will all go out, Morgana invite your friend, and we will all meet at the pub. See you guys then.” Leon departed with another smile Morgana’s way.   
“I hate you both.” Arthur grumbled, more to himself than Morgana.  
“Come on, I need you to walk me home.” Morgana glided through the restaurant with grace. Arthur followed behind. Leon waved from the bar. Damn, he thought. They were beautiful siblings. Arthur and Morgana sauntered through the campus slowly. It was about ten, so there were still a few students out and about, but what caught them completely by surprise is when they saw Merlin sprint across their path. He was laughing hysterically and soon Freya followed, also laughing. Merlin turned and threw something at Freya, which she dodged. Merlin’s smile was that same goofy expression he had worn that morning at orientation.   
“Is that all you got Merl?” Freya called after him.  
“Like you could do any better Frey!” Merlin yelled back as he kept running. Soon they were out of sight.  
“They are absolutely adorable.” Morgana whispered.   
“Yes, if your definition of adorable is ‘completely mental,’” Arthur whispered back. Morgana slapped his arm and rolled her eyes, but there was still a smile on her face. Well maybe this year is exactly what she always needed, Arthur thought to himself.


	10. Chapter 9

Gaius was furious, to say the least. Merlin should have probably changed his hair color before walking into the flat, but he never actually realized his hair was blue. After a thorough tongue lashing, Freya turned his hair back to black.   
“You two need to learn how to control yourselves!” Gaius said, sitting them on the couch.  
“I controlled it at dinner.” Merlin said, helpfully.  
“And what was the situation?”   
“Arthur was being a clotpole, talking without using the small brain he has.” Gaius raised an eyebrow at Merlin’s words. Freya suppressed a small smile.   
“I see. Well did you feel it?”  
“My magic? Yes I felt it. It was hot, like blood coursing through my veins. It wanted to reach out, but I kept it back. See I’m doing well!” He gave Gaius a dopey smile, who intern looked at Freya. Merlin didn’t notice the silent exchange as he had stood and was retreating to his room. Freya gave Gaius a wink before darting after Merlin.  
“Frey, I am possibly, more than slightly, drunk.” Merlin groaned from the bed.  
“Well you drank like a double scotch, and then we did all that magic. You’re bound to be slightly tipsy.” Freya giggled as he pulled her down on the bed.   
“I miss this Frey. I miss our sibling time. When we get our own flat, we will have to do a lot more of this.” Merlin grumbled into the pillow.  
“Well we can, but only if you have the time between taking care of our lord prat.” Freya laid next to him on her side, facing him.   
“Why Frey? He’s such a prat! He’s so commanding with his stupid, pretty blue eyes and soft golden hair…” Merlin trailed off. Freya smiled as her brother began to snore.  
“You have so much ahead of you Merls, and I hope you two realize what’s right in front of you.” Freya kissed his forehead before swinging herself from the bed, careful to set his alarm for 6:30 am before she left.  
The next morning Merlin sprung from bed as his alarm blared. He was still in his clothes from the previous night and now had a pounding head ache. He flung his arm in the general direction of his alarm, and to his surprise, it shut off. He looked round to find his arm nowhere near his alarm, but gold sparks were coming from it.  
“Crap,” he muttered to himself. After a quick shower, he dressed and made the strongest pot of coffee he could. Freya stumbled out of her room at about 7:00, just as Merlin was pouring his coffee.  
“How’s the hangover,” Freya smiled at him. He stuck his tongue out before taking a long drink. She poured herself a cup and stood next to him. “So what do you have today?”  
“Absolutely nothing. I’m going to drive you to school and then I will probably go to the café I told you about. It’s called the Dragon’s Lair and half of it is a bookstore.”  
“Nerd.”   
“Please, you would love it,” he smiled over his coffee. She bumped his side and sipped her mug. Freya was ready to go by 7:30 and they clambered into his car. The ride was short and Freya jumped out as soon as Merlin hit the brakes.   
“Bye Merl! Pick me up?” He nodded and waved, watching her run up to a pretty girl with curly dark hair.   
“Must be Gwen,” he muttered before pulling away. He drove all the way back to the university and parked by Gaius’s building. The short walk to the café was nice and brisk. As he passed the window, he saw Aithusa busy making coffee.  
“Merlin!” She called as he came in.  
“Hello Aithusa,” He greeted cheerfully.   
“Just couldn’t stay away could you?”   
“Oh definitely not! I only come for my dear Aithusa!” Merlin clutched his chest mockingly and fell to the side. Aithusa giggled and blushed deep red. He was at the counter as soon as he regained his vertical posture. “Large caramely, chocolaty, mocha thing. And that red is a nice color on you.” Merlin heard the tinkle of the bell behind him, but didn’t turn.  
“So Merlin, ready or some quick, like 30-second training,” Aithusa whispered as she took him money. Merlin noticed her eyes flick behind him and turned around, coming face to face with Arthur. Merlin sighed dejectedly.   
“Yep let’s do this.” Merlin strode behind the counter, stowing his bag and jacket on a nearby table. He tied an apron around his waist and stood next to Aithusa. “Arthur Pendragon, what can I get you?”  
“What no training needed?” Arthur was skeptical. Merlin’s mouth twisted into a scowl and Arthur glanced at the floor. Okay, so maybe he should kiss up to Merlin, a lot, but Arthur wanted to see his skills. “Double shot, white chocolate latte with caramel.” Merlin raised an eyebrow. “It’s for Morgana I still owe her for yesterday. I’ll have a chocolate mocha.” Merlin nodded toward Aithusa to ring him up and began Morgana’s latte. He twisted and whirled around the little kitchen area as if he had always been there. Machines hissed and foamed and he turned the right nobs at the right times, putting forth two 32 oz. coffees in minutes. Aithusa and Arthur were both stunned.  
“Had coffee experience?” Aithusa squeaked.   
“Oh yes! We lived in Aberdeen for about a year and a half. I worked in this little shop right on the coast. We were there the longest, maybe I can talk Frey into going back soon.” Merlin smiled with the nostalgia.   
“Hopefully not too soon, you are exactly what we need.” Aithusa looked at Merlin with great respect. Merlin gave her his dopey smile in return. A flare of white hot jealousy flooded Arthur’s chest. He shook his head, ground his teeth, and took his coffees.   
“Thank you for the coffee, I will probably be back for my afternoon.” Arthur said briskly. Merlin rolled his eyes at the stiff backside of lord prat.  
“He actually seemed like he was trying to be polite.” Aithusa commented as the bell tinkled, noting Arthur’s departure.  
“As he should have been, seeing that he was a right asshole about my sister.” Merlin grumbled.  
“When did all this happen?” Aithusa exclaimed. They were the only two in the shop, and Merlin couldn’t help but trust the little bird.   
“Last night. I met my sister for dinner and a drink. She’s 17, but she half raised herself, so I believe she is mature enough to make her own decisions. Our residing Lord didn’t like that she was 17, and decided to stick his nose where it didn’t belong, attempting to give me and my parents a thorough lashing. I then pointed out he was a moron, as well as a royal git, by telling him my parents were dead. Which they are…” Merlin looked down at the coffee he had made. Muscle memory, his mother would have called it.  
“Might I ask how long?”  
“Almost six years. But anyway! I guess I don’t really need training, unless you have any specialty drinks.” Merlin gave Aithusa another goofy smile.  
“Well I guess not! Since no one is here, let’s work on your schedule.” They sat down at the table Merlin had claimed and worked out a basic outline of a week. Merlin would occasionally rise to help a customer and get a feel for his surroundings and students. They eventually decided that he would work all day Tuesday, starting at 5:30 am till closing, Wednesdays, staring at 10:00 am ending at 2:30 pm, Thursdays at 3:00, and Saturday afternoons, when they got a rush. Aithusa assured Merlin the calls would usually be after 10:00, seeing as Arthur usually slept in after being at the pub on Friday.   
“You sure know a lot about him,” Merlin jibbed with a smile.  
“How can you not! He boasts about each of his conquests with pride.” Merlin laughed at her flustered expression. “It is not funny. It isn’t easy making him a brew when all he talks about is how amazing he is.” The afternoon passed with laughs and coffee. Aithusa eventually went back to work, telling Merlin he would start his new schedule tomorrow. Merlin laughed at her mock authority and decided to stroll through the bookshelves, where once again he found himself face to face with Arthur Pendragon.


	11. Chapter 10

“Merlin,” Arthur said.  
“That is my name.” Merlin replied. “What do you want?” Merlin pulled the pile of books he held closer to his chest.  
“I just wanted to... uh…” Arthur hesitated and Merlin’s eyebrows shot up. Was he going to… No he wouldn’t. “Apologize,” Arthur half choked out. Oh my god he did. “I’m sorry for what I said, it was… impolite and…”  
“Prattish?” Merlin supplied. He could see Arthur grinding his teeth and smiled.  
“Yes, it was prattish.” Arthur managed to say.  
“Hmph, well I accept your apology.” Merlin bowed his head.  
“Really?” Arthur looked surprised. Merlin nodded.  
“You seem generally apologetic even if you could barely say it, so I will gladly accept your apology.” Merlin gave Arthur a half smile. Arthur was still slightly shaken, but he quickly pulled himself from his stupor.   
“So what are you reading?” He asked, peering at the books.  
“Just browsing really. Most is medieval history of this area. Freya is really into this area. It’s beautiful.”  
“That’s cool, I have a lot of older texts that I got from my mother’s inheritance. Most are about this area if Freya wants to have a look.”   
“Really? Freya would love that!”   
“Good now as an apology,” Arthur swiped the books from Merlin and half ran to the counter. “I will be purchasing these for her as well.”   
“What no!” Merlin was to slow to catch up though, as Aithusa had almost finished ringing him up. “Aithusa, stop ringing him up!” Aithusa looked like a deer in the headlights.   
“Now, now Merlin, I’m purchasing these for myself. They just might or might not end up going home with you.” Arthur purred mischievously. Aithusa blushed scarlet and gave Merlin a suggestive smile.   
“I can’t let you purchase that entire stack of books.” Merlin pushed.  
“Too late!” Arthur nearly sang as he handed Aithusa his gold card. Merlin tried to snatch it out of the air, but it was too late indeed. Aithusa had the card swiped and handed back to Arthur along with the receipt in no time. Each book was carefully placed into a paper sack and handed to a scowling Merlin. Arthur flashed him a smile and gestured to a table in the corner, but when he tried to get Merlin’s chair for him, the smaller man practically shoved him away.  
“I did just give your little sister a very pricey present, and I apologized. You could be nice.” Arthur took the chair opposite Merlin with a scowl.   
“You very much enjoy sticking your nose in things, don’t you Pendragon?”   
“Well it is a right that I’ve had since birth.”   
“Of course it is, well I guess I thank you for the books. Freya will be greatly pleased, but I am supposed to pick her up from school.” Merlin rose, and Arthur followed.   
“Tell Freya I give her my sincerest apologies and bribes.” He nodded toward the books and Merlin laughed.   
“Freya would love these bribes. I very much assume she will forgive you. Thank you Arthur and give my best to Morgana.” Arthur nodded and watched the raven haired man leave the building. He sat back down and continued to keep his gaze on Merlin until he was out of sight. With a sigh, Arthur left the shop and walked the short jaunt to Morgana’s flat. When he knocked, Morgana yelled something unintelligible. He knocked again and then he heard with more clarity.  
“If it is Arthur Pendragon, I want absolutely nothing to do with you.” Her voice ripped through the hall as the door swung open.  
“Hello Morgana,” Arthur started before the door was slammed in his face. “I came to tell you that I spoke with Merlin today.” The door creaked open slightly and Morgana peeked her head out, in a signal to go on. “I apologized and he accepted.”  
“That’s all?”  
“I bought Freya a stack of books because she wasn’t with him and we had a nice conversation.” Morgana’s eyes narrowed, before the door completely opened.   
“So if I call and ask him, you won’t be lying?”   
“No Morgana I’m not lying.” Arthur gave her a sad smile. She huffed and stood by to let him in. “Thank you.”   
“I still can’t believe you were such an ass.” Arthur shifted uncomfortably. To be honest, he had no idea why the Merlin brought out the worst in him, he just did. Morgana’s gaze softened. “It was good of you to apologize, I guess you are growing up.” Arthur rolled his eyes.  
“Come on lets go get a late lunch.” Arthur held out his arm, which Morgana, thankfully, took. They had a light lunch at a probably extremely overpriced restaurant, forgetting about their troubles.


	12. Chapter 11

Merlin was only about five minutes late to pick Freya up, but she didn’t mind. When he pulled up she was deep in conversation with the curly haired girl. Merlin let her talk for a second before honking the horn. She looked up and smiled, saying goodbye to her friend.  
“Gwen,” Merlin asked when she got in the car. She nodded and fastened her seat belt. “I have a present for you,” he said and he pulled out the bag of books. Her face was a mix of joy and awe.  
“But Merls we can’t afford these!”   
“I didn’t buy them.” Merlin sighed heavily. “They are an apology and gift slash bribe from on Arthur Pendragon.” Freya froze, her hands in the bag. Merlin assumed she was contemplating the apology. After what seemed like ten minutes, Freya kept digging through the bag, accepting the apology.  
“Hmm, these are fascinating,” She said softly. Her hands were running along the covers of each book individually, seemingly absorbing their information. Her face was pinched with concentration, and when she got to the last book in the stack, she broke into a smile. It was titled, ‘The Myths and Lore of Avalon.’ “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”  
“Good, he made it very clear they were his sincerest apologies.”   
“And of course you forgave him,” Frey’s tone was joking and her smile was mischievous.  
“What’s that supposed to mean!?”  
“You just can’t help getting lost in those blue eyes.” Merlin almost swerved off the road at her statement.   
“I think we need to reevaluate your perception of my feelings.” Merlin said.   
“I think we need to reevaluate YOUR perception of your feelings.” Freya countered.  
“I think I know your hardheaded and will refuse to let this drop, so this conversation is officially over. Forever.” Freya just shook her head with a smile. “How was school?”   
“Fantastic. My classes are amazing, and Gwen is beyond phenomenal.” Freya gushed all the way home, but what she said was stuck like a seed in Merlin’s brain. He didn’t have feelings for Arthur. He was a selfish prat that was raised to think everyone but a handful were scum. As soon as he thought it, a small part of his brain began to rebel, knowing that wasn’t completely true. Merlin shoved that part of his mind away and locked it in a closet.   
Gauis wasn’t home when they arrived at the apartment, so they settled down to read and finish their homework. At around five o’clock, Merlin rose to make dinner. Gauis trudged in about 30 minutes later to the smells of vegetables frying and pasta sauce simmering.   
“I was not aware if you ate meat or not, so I just made pasta,” Merlin said as Gauis walked into the kitchen.  
“Very well my boy, and I do indeed.” Dinner was a quiet affair, with Freya’s nose in a book and Gaius disappearing to do work in his room.  
“Merls, about what I said earlier,” Freya said quietly. She had snuck upon him as he was doing the dishes.  
“No, no. It’s okay, let’s just forget about it.” Merlin edged around the topic uncomfortably.  
“No, I have to say something. If things ever come to pass, don’t ignore your feelings because of outside forces. Don’t push them away fight for it.” She smiled and disappeared into her room. For a second time that day, Freya had left him with plenty to think about. She was becoming much too wise and insightful for her age.   
\----  
The next day, Merlin woke up with a splitting headache. His vision was blurred to the point he couldn’t see if his shirt was right side out. He tried to pass it off as if nothing was wrong, but his first bad move was tripping over a knee high stack of books. Freya reached out and caught him before he hit the ground, and magically stopped the books from falling. She sat him on the couch and called for Gaius, who showed up in an old fashioned dressing gown.   
“Merl what’s wrong.” Freya’s voice was distant.  
“Can’t see, everything in my head is fuzzy and painful. I can barely hear you.” Gaius and Freya shared a concerned look.   
“I will call Kilgharrah.” Merlin heard a shuffling and assumed Gaius had left.   
“Merls, Gaius went to call Kilgharrah, can you still hear me.”  
“Yes I can hear you, but it’s still distant.” It didn’t take long for there to be a loud knock on the door, seconds actually. Gaius answered the door angrily to find Kilgharrah.   
“I was just about to call you.” Gaius said, very confused and flustered.  
“I felt something was wrong and I came right over.” Kilgharrah strode into the room and spotted Merlin on the couch. He grabbed Merlin’s face and pulled him up. Examining his pupils, Kilgharrah found them to be glazed and foggy. “When did this start?”  
“This morning, when I woke up.” Merlin answered. Kilgharrah mumbled something unintelligible and he checked Merlin’s pulse.   
“Well?” Freya asked impatiently.   
“Well he is unable to attend school for at least a few days. Freya, if it isn’t too much trouble, would you mind staying with him? Perhaps you could collect his homework as well.”  
“Of course I will, but-”  
“Well ta, must be off!” Kilgharrah bowed deeply and was gone.   
“What the bloody hell!” Freya exclaimed.  
“Always so helpful.” Merlin grumbled.   
“Okay I need to go to class, Freya would you like a ride? I can give you a copy of his schedule.”  
“I need to contact Aithusa as well,” Merlin mumbled.  
“I’ll take care of it. Merlin don’t you dare move from the couch.” Freya growled.  
“Yes ma’am.” There was a flurry of sound, but to Merlin, everything was wispy, like the sound of feathers in the wind. He was at the end of a long tunnel, trying to listen to what was happening on the other end. He felt a small hand slip into his.   
“I’ll be back Merls.” Freya’s voice was soft and frightened. Merlin’s eyes widened as he thought of the last time he heard that tone. She was gone before he could say anything.


	13. Chapter 12

Freya couldn’t sit still the entire drive to the university.   
“Freya don’t worry, we will fix this.”   
“Yes, but I can’t lose him Gaius.” Gaius just nods. When they get to his classroom, he hands Freya a copy of Merlin’s schedule and directed her to Merlin’s first class. Gaius didn’t have class until 11:00 on Thursdays, so it was already 10:30, meaning Merlin’s drawing class had already started.   
As soon as Freya walked into the classroom she froze. A cold feeling washed over her completely, starting in her chest.   
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?” A cold voice spiked the feelings in her chest and her head shot up. Freya was met with clear ice blue eyes.   
“I was sent here by Gaius. One of your students, Merlin Emrys is ill, and I have been sent to collect anything he will miss. The eyes flashed with a sudden glee, but the emotion was gone so fast Freya swore she imagined it.  
“Freya,” another voice said from a nearby table.  
“Morgana!” Freya breathed heavily.   
“Did you say Merlin was ill?” Morgana’s eyes were big with concern.  
“Uh… yeah it just kinda hit over night.”   
“Oh well I’ll make sure to text him,” Morgana said.  
“Yes he would like that,” Freya smiled. “Anyway, the assignments.”  
“How long do we expect Mr. Emrys to be out?” The professor said. “I am Nimueh by the way, and you are?”  
“His sister, Freya. I believe he will be out tomorrow, but I can’t account for next week.” Freya was quick and to the point. She wanted out of that room and away from Nimueh as soon as possible. Nimueh rifled though some papers on her desk and handed Freya 3 sheets of paper.   
“His sister really? I wasn’t aware he had a sister. One is todays assignment, tomorrows assignment and the weekends homework. It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Freya.” Nimueh purred the last sentenced. Freya made for the door, but found Morgana in her path.  
“It was nice to see you again Freya, and I wish to apologize for my imbecile of a brother’s behavior the other night-”  
“It’s okay Morgana, truly. He has already sent his apologies.” Freya smiled.  
“Yes I heard, but I wasn’t aware if he had done it sincerely or properly. Bringing it up was more of following up.” They shared a smile, before Freya took her leave. Her next stop brought her to a lovely women named Alice. Alice was sweet and gave Freya a nice smile before sending her on her way. The last stop was the coffee shop. Freya found the café quant and cozy, just as Merlin thought she would. Through the window she saw a young girl with long silvery hair stood behind the counter. In front of her was a blonde man. A blonde man that Freya recognized. A blonde man who seemed to be terrorizing the young girl. A bell tinkled when she opened the door, but neither looked around.  
“What do you mean he isn’t here?” The blonde demanded.   
“I mean simply that he isn’t here. He doesn’t have a shift until 3:00.” The girl squeaked.   
“Excuse me,” Freya piped up angrily. The blonde spun on his heels with narrowed eyes, but stopped short.   
“Freya.” His voice went up an octave. Freya ignored him and turned to the silver haired girl.  
“Freya. Merlin’s sister?” The girl asked. Freya nodded.  
“I am here because he is ill and doesn’t have the ability to make the call himself.” Freya stated. The little girl squealed.   
“Oh my, is he okay!” Arthur looked almost as concerned as she did, but kept his mouth closed.  
“Gaius is looking into it as well as a uh… close friend, so I hope he will be fine by Monday. If it isn’t too much trouble, he can’t actually come to work, and he would be devastated if he lost his job.” Freya was now beside Arthur directly in front of Aithusa.   
“Of course I’ll hold his position! He has already proven more than useful,” Aithusa said hurriedly, casting a glance at Arthur. “What are his symptoms?”   
“He said he feels like he is in a tunnel. At the far end of a tunnel where we are all at the other end. His vision and hearing are both muted to match the feeling.” Freya answered kindly. It was clear Aithusa adored Merlin, and vice versa, but she didn’t know if she should be saying anything in front of Arthur. Aithusa tilted her head in thought before her glance flicked to Arthur.  
“I’m sorry, but we will be closing immediately for an emergency.” Aithusa said as she started to turn off various machines. Arthur looked taken aback and opened his mouth to argue, but before he could Freya laid a hand on his arm.  
“You have no more business here or with Merlin. I thank you for the books, but it is now time for you to go.” Freya said calmly.  
“What do you mean I have no business with Merlin? Is that not between him and myself?” He bristled.   
“With all the two of have been through we are intricately involved in each other’s affairs. The books were lovely, but it will take much more than that to convince me to even let you speak with him, let alone have the privilege of worrying for him.” Freya’s voice was low and almost feral. It gave Arthur goosebumps listening to her. She was a mother protecting her child, and Arthur was a potential threat to him. Aithusa stood frozen behind the counter. She understood that Arthur was not good for Merlin. He was a douche in every sense of the word, but she did not understand just what deserved this level of protection.  
“I-”  
“I know what’s wrong!” Aithusa half yelled. She had seen Arthur’s face begin to turn pink and had to help Merlin. Freya and Arthur look sharply at her. Fear and hope in Freya’s eyes, and, surprising to Aithusa, genuine concern in his. “Arthur if you will please leave, Freya I have a book for you.”   
“I will not leave!” Arthur exclaimed.  
“Yes you will. I need to speak with Freya alone. It is a very delicate topic and you cannot be a part of it.” Arthur was taken aback by her forcefulness, but nevertheless, spun on his heels and exited the café.   
“Now what were you saying about what’s wrong?” Freya was all business.  
“The symptoms you told me about. I’ve heard of them before. It’s his magic!”


	14. Chapter 13

Freya’s eyes went wide and she started to back away slowly.   
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said slowly.   
“I knew I felt close to him.” Aithusa continued. “I was resonating with the magic he has in his blood!” Aithusa noticed she was almost at the door. “No, don’t go! We are kin, in a sort.” Freya stopped at that. “I am drakon.” Aithusa looked down in shame.   
“Oh dear lord.” Freya whispered. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it truly was wrong for us to stay here.”   
“No I think you and Merlin are exactly what we need. There is an underground war going on. This school has become the battle ground.” Freya was frozen on the spot. What was she talking about?  
“Can you cure him?!” Freya half yelled, immediately slicing through the babble. Aithusa closed her mouth and nodded. “Please.” Her voice gave a strangled cry. Aithusa grabbed her hand and drug her to the door behind the counter. When she placed her hand on the knob it glowed faintly blue through her hands before she pushed it open. The opening revealed a dark tunnel.   
“Welcome to the underground.” Aithusa’s eyes glowed faintly blue to match her luminescent hands. She guided Freya down the tunnel until they came to a large circular cavern. There were nine archways around the cavern, including the one they came through. There were tables and cabinets lining the walls filled with books and jars of all assortment. In the center of the room a huge round table stood proudly. It was a dark mahogany with delicate carvings wrapping around the edge. Nine high backed chairs stood in line with the archways.   
“What is this place?”  
“This place was created for magic. Magic itself will one day walk this cavern and when he does, there will be a place for us all.” Freya stood in awe drinking in the sight, until she remember the reason they were here.  
“Merlin,” she stammered. Aithusa nodded and wound her way between cabinets, collecting herbs and strange colored liquids.  
“Whomever has performed the spell, it is indeed a spell, will know the minute it is broken and will likely be very angry. The spell they performed is called colaevum. It is literally draining his magic from him. Merlin being Merlin, it means draining his life. Magic is not just something he was born with, it is him. The drain is becoming too much and his body didn’t know what to do, thus cutting of hearing and sight for more necessary functions.” Aithusa had prepared a large beaker filled with a purple liquid. She unscrewed the lid of a jar filled with tan powder. “Astragalus root will help fight against almost anything, the immune system in particular. Mixed with the leaves Mortius flower, it will also help his magical immune system. I believe that this, along with Merlin’s will, will overcome the spell.”  
“The purple liquid?” Freya asked quietly. It was almost too much for her, even with the help of her sight.   
“It may be magic but that doesn’t mean a little chemistry isn’t involved. The solution needs a base.” Aithusa says with a quirk of her lips. Freya nodded and waited for Aithusa to finish. After she added the powdered root and Mortius leaf, Aithusa’s eyes glowed brighter blue as she whispered under her breath. The potion boiled and turned a pleasant shade of green. “Perfect let’s go.” Then they ran. They ran through the tunnel and the shop until they were already almost to Gaius’s apartment. They both stopped short at the sight of a shiny car in the parking lot with a tall blonde leaning against it.   
“Bloody hell! Don’t you ever have class?!” Freya demanded breaking into a run again, Aithusa close on her heals. She didn’t have to look back to know Arthur was behind them. When they reached the apartment, the door was already flung wide. Freya froze. Inside the door books were strewn around the room and the bookshelves and Gaius’s lab table were thrown sideways. Merlin was nowhere to be found.  
“Where the hell is he?” Arthur commanded. Freya was visibly shaking. He was gone and if they didn’t find him soon, he would die.  
“He must have been an idiot and gone out on his own again. In his state he obviously shouldn’t have. Look what he’s done to the room.” Aithusa’s voice washed over Freya, giving her clarity.   
“Let’s split up to look for him. Arthur take the town and call Morgana to be on the lookout. Aithusa and I will split campus and I will talk with Gaius and Kilgharrah.” Arthur looked like he was going to argue, but one look from Freya shut him up. He nodded and ran from the building, phone in hand.  
“We aren’t looking on campus are we?”  
“No call Kilgharrah and have him meet us in the cavern. Someone took him and we need to find him.” Freya was tired of being frightened. She was tired of being frightened that someone would come along and rip Merlin away, and she was tired of the running. When Merlin actually was taken, she had been nowhere in sight to help, and now she was not going to run anymore.


	15. Chapter 14

Merlin was dazed and confused when he came to. The last thing he remembers is a white hot liquid running down his throat. When the door opened he thought it was Freya calling out to him, but the intruder made the mistake of laying their hand on his shoulder. His magic recognized that this person was a threat and lashed out. He heard the sounds of crashing before the intruder shoved a vial half down his throat, forcing him to swallow. His vision nor his hearing had yet returned, but he could still feel with his hands. He was leaning against a wet rock wall. Cave? He let his magic probe out and found he could see without sight. He was not so much in a cave, but a crevice. The other wall was less than five inches away and the tunnel only led to darkness. There is a sudden blossom of pain in his chest. It’s like something being ripped away from him, and then his magic was gone. He didn’t have the energy to probe for it, but there was a hole in him. Something he never thought he would feel. It was consuming, like a black hole in the cosmos, eating away at him until he lost consciousness once more.  
***  
Freya and Aithusa were leaning over the giant table in the cavern when they hear footsteps. The smell of smoke wafted into the room a second before Kilgharrah did. Freya looked up and saw the grim set in his face.   
“Found anything?”  
“We both swept the apartment with magic. There were traces of evil. Something cold and dark, but nothing really that will help.” Freya answered. “You?”  
“Yes. I let my mind reach out. Aithusa you should be able to do this as well. Merlin has a special affinity with the drakon, a dragon lord if you will. Our kind will always be able to find him. Reach out with your mind and you can always find him.” Kilgharrah gave Aithusa a stern look before turning and departing.   
“Well, okay then. Thanks for the god damn help.” Freya muttered. She glanced at Aithusa who had her eyes shut tight with concentration. All of a sudden they flew open, gleaming bright blue.   
“I know where he is.” Her voice was thick and ancient. It shook the cavern with how ancient it was. Aithusa turned to one of the nine archways and set off at breakneck speed. Freya followed as fast as she could, all the while scanning the tunnel in front and behind them. Aithusa seemed too preoccupied to protect herself. Freya detected a small glimpse of movement in one of the side tunnels, but it was gone before she could explore it further. Aithusa led her through so many twists and turns, she knew they would have hell getting out. She finally stopped in front of a tiny crevice. Her eyes stopped glowing and she sways slightly. Freya shot out a hand to catch her. “”He’s in there.” Her voice was back to normal as she gestured to the crevice. Freya was at a loss for words, but she stooped down and crawled into the crevice. She had the antidote in her pocket and prayed she wasn’t too late. What would she do without him? She only crawled for a minute or two more before she saw him. He was slumped against the back wall, unconscious hopefully. Freya reached out and lets her fingers probe his neck, looking for a pulse. She finds one, but it is weak, barely there. She had to move quickly. The vial is in her hand in a second and the Merlin’s lips the next. She tilted his head back and empties the contents into his mouth.  
“Swallow Merlin. God dammit!” Freya cried. Thankfully, he complied and the effect was almost instantaneous. A blast of cool air whipped around the crevice. Freya felt it like a kiss on her skin. He was staying. He would not leave her today. A groan escaped his lips as she began to drag him out of the hole. Aithusa reached her hands in and helped pull him out. They half drug, half carried him back to the cavern and lifted him onto the round table. Another groan escaped his lips before his eyes fluttered open.  
“Frey,” he groaned weakly.  
“I’m here. Can you see me?” Freya noticed his eyes were no longer cloudy.  
“And hear you. What happened?” His voice was thick and rough. Aithusa instantly had a glass of water pressed to his lips. He drank it all greedily.  
“You were kidnapped. We were able to find an antidote.”  
“I was there for the kidnapping bit. We? Aithusa? What?” When he laid eyes on the small girl his eyes went wide.  
“I recognized it the moment we met. You were special. I had no idea how special until Freya came to the shop, but you are indeed.” Aithusa gave him a warm innocent smile he couldn’t not return. Merlin nodded slowly, understanding dawning on him. “I am a drakon.”   
“Oh that makes sense. You have a similar presence to Kilgharrah.”  
“You know about Kilgharrah?” Freya asked incredulously.   
“Yea, father told me.” He answered quietly. Freya’s face drooped in sadness.   
“Oh.” Merlin nodded solemnly.  
“So, where are we?”  
“I call it Albion. As far as I know only Kilgharrah and I know about it. This is where we will prepare for war.”  
“War? Freya I think it’s time to go.” Merlin’s head ached and he refused to let Freya anywhere near a war.  
“No Merlin, our place is here now. We are a part of this. We can’t leave.” Freya gave him a sad look, understanding his reasoning.  
“She is correct. Because you were taken, you are now woven into the events that will come. Whomever tried to kill you will only try harder. They want your magic for themselves.” Aithusa’s face was grim. Merlin’s shoulders sank in defeat.   
“Fine. C’mon Freya lets head home.” Freya slipped under his arm and began to hoist him up the stairs. Aithusa slipped under his other arm to help. “I guess this will the beginning of some major changes huh?”  
“Yes, Merls. The time for running is over. It’s now time for us to stand and fight.” Freya gave his side a squeeze, but said no more.


	16. Chapter 15

Freya and Aithusa helped Merlin from the cavern and back to the flat. They just managed to get him to the door when it flung open.   
“Merlin!” Morgana shrieked. Her hands found his arms and pulled him inside. Gauis and Arthur were turning the table back to its upright position.   
“Merlin! How are you my boy?” Gaius asked as he checked his pupils.  
“Amazing! Freya and Aithusa fixed me up ship shape.” Merlin grinned widely.   
“Well thank god!” Morgana spoke with relief. “Well, tonight to celebrate your apparent immediate recovery, we are all going to the pub!”  
“What?” Arthur almost squawked.   
“Well Arthur, I believe Morgana just asked us to have a much needed drink.” Merlin said with a grin.  
“Merls, you should rest.” Freya said softly.  
“Nope, not tonight. Tonight we are going to the pub and if you want, bring Gwen. I would like to meet her anyway.” Merlin had a determination that Freya could not break.  
“Good! Meet us at the Rising Sun tonight at… say six?” Morgana looked between all of their faces, trying to find someone to disagree with her. Merlin gave her his ever goofy smile, which satisfied her. “Okay, come on Arthur, Merlin should use the time he has to rest, without your nose in his business.” Morgana strode from the flat determinedly. Arthur was frozen on the spot. Morgana was going out. Morgana took charge and asked Merlin and Freya. Oh god she asked Merlin and Freya. It took him a moment to realize they were all staring at him.  
“Well that was interesting.” He looked directly into Merlin’s, albeit pretty, deep blue eyes. “Whatever you did to her, thank you.” He gave a nod to Freya and Gaius and left the apartment. Merlin collapsed into the back of the couch. His face was worn and his eyes tired.   
“Why did it have to be a bloody cave? I’m going to have a crick in my neck for ages,” he groaned. Gaius chuckled slightly but sat on a stool in front on Merlin.  
“Yes well cave or not, we need to know who did this.” Gaius said calmly.  
“Is there a way to track the spell?” Freya inquired.  
“No this is much too complex magic for that. Merlin do you remember anything that could help us?”  
“Oh yes. If they come within ten feet I will be able to tell who they are. I could feel their magic. It was cold and dangerous when they grabbed my shoulder. It won’t be easy to forget.” Merlin’s eyes had grown dark and cloudy.   
“Well that’s good. We will catch them, even if we can’t do anything to speed up the process. Now I demand you take a nap. It will be too draining for you to go out tonight if you don’t.” Freya’s voice was stern.  
“No Freya. I think tonight is exactly what we need. A little time to relax and let go for a few hours. I will nap though, but you’ll have to wake me up. Call Gwen, I want to meet her.” Freya began to answer but Gaius laid a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. Any rebuttal would be pointless, Merlin was already asleep.  
“I worry for him Gaius. Many of the things I see are coming to pass, but there are still so many futures and outcomes left. I can’t promise what is going to happen.” Freya’s shoulders slumped as she looked at her sleeping brother. He was all she had, and it would tear her apart to lose him.   
“Yes, but it is his future to walk. He will learn from him mistakes and hopefully make the right decisions. Now do as he says and phone Gwen. He needs a few hours rest.”  
*2 hours later*  
“Merlin,” Freya shook his arm softly. He just groaned and attempted to roll over, forgetting he was on the couch. He ended up face first in the carpet with another groan. A soft giggling came from above him. He lifted his head and found Freya and Gwen standing over him. Her eyes were a deep warm brown. Merlin felt that he could tell her anything.   
“Five more minutes,” he said laying his head back down.  
“No way. If you don’t get up Morgana and Arthur will come here.” Freya stated.  
“Morgana and Arthur Pendragon?” Gwen looked at Freya with wide eyes.   
“Yes Morgana is a friend of Merlin’s… Arthur on the other hand is…” Freya trailed off trying to think of a word.  
“A self-centered prat,” came Merlin’s muffled voice. Freya giggles softly, so only Gwen could hear. Gwen raised an eyebrow and Freya winked. “Ugh fine.” Merlin pulled himself up from the floor slowly. “It’s nice to meet you Gwen.” He bowed his head slightly and she returned the gesture. “But I have spent many hours in a damp cave and must shower.” Freya smiled.   
“For the love of god Merlin, don’t wear a neckerchief.” She called, but he scoffed and shook his head. After his shower he no longer felt gross and smelly. His neckerchief was securely in place, blue today, and his hair… well he tried to run his fingers through it. Freya and Gwen were talking quietly in the kitchen when he made his appearance. “Good, Morgana has already texted me asking where we were.” Merlin rolled his eyes but gave her a smile.   
“Then shall we go?” Freya tossed him his keys and they departed.  
The Rising Sun was one of the most crowded pubs on campus. But it had to be seeing as it was the hangout of Arthur and his friends. Freya pushed through the crowd with Merlin and Gwen in tow. She had taken control so Merlin had struck up a conversation with Gwen. He realized she was an amazingly sweet girl with a heart of gold. He could see why Freya liked her. They followed Freya until she stopped at a large table at the back of the room.  
“There you bloody are,” Morgana said loudly. She was seated at the table with Arthur across from her and an unknown man next to her. She reached out and pulled Merlin into the seat next to her. He tripped into it with a yelp. Freya and Gwen burst into laughter as his face turned cherry red. The man next to Morgana raised an eyebrow and even Arthur cracked a smile. “Oops sorry. This is Leon. He’s one of Arthur’s oldest friends. Leon this is Merlin, his sister Freya, and…?”  
“Gwen,” Freya substituted.  
“And Gwen.”  
“Ah so you two are the lucky people who Arthur opened his big mouth too, my condolences.” Leon reached over and shook Merlin’s hand. He hand a firm grip and a kind face. Merlin smiled gleefully.  
“Well Prince Prat does make one feel quite lucky when he speaks.” Merlin replied. Leon’s face split into a grin.  
“Prince Prat. Oh Morgana I like him. Arthur don’t be a child. You got yourself into the mess in the first place.” Leon gave Arthur a hard look who was slumped in his seat, a sour look on his face. Gwen let out a breathy giggle. Merlin looked over and found her barely containing her laughter. “I hope no one minds, but I invited my new waiter.”  
“The one who served us the other day? He was very good looking.” Morgana stared into her drink thoughtfully.   
“Freya, Gwen, do you want something?” Merlin stood, looking at the two.   
“Whiskey please,” Freya answered with a smile.  
“Just a coke please. Someone will have to drive you drunkards home.” Gwen said with a smile  
“Freya I do believe she just called us drunkards.”  
“Yes I do believe so. We will just have to prove her right.” Freya’s smile was twisted and predatory, but Merlin just snorted. “I’ll help,” she said as she jumped up. Once they were far enough from the table, Merlin spoke.   
“I like her. She is a very sweet girl.”   
“Yes I think she’s pretty amazing.” Freya agreed  
“Indeed I think we should keep her.” Merlin gave her a smile and she laughed. “A double whiskey neat, a double scotch neat, and a coke please.” The bar tender nodded and quickly had their drinks on the bar. As they walked back to the table Merlin took a long drink of his scotch. At the table was a long haired man talking loudly.  
“I was having this dream about eating a cheese that tasted of apple pie!” Merlin choked on his scotch and sprayed it everywhere. The man whipped around after Merlin’s drink covered him.  
“Jesus Merlin, could you be any clumsier.” Arthur drawled. He didn’t see how the man and Merlin were keeping eye contact.   
“Oh my god!” Freya squealed. She threw herself to the man and enveloped him in a huge hug, he returned the hug, but his eyes were on Merlin. She let go, but still held his hand.  
“Gwaine,” Merlin said with disbelief.  
“Oh come on Merls, don’t act so surprised to see me!” Gwaine’s face split into a grin and he grabbed Merlin into a hug. Merlin hugged him back, hard. He smiled as Gwaine pulled back.  
“It has been too long Gwaine.” They held eye contact before someone cleared their throat.  
“So you two know each other?” Arthur interrupted. They turned and the entire table was staring at them. Arthur had a sour look on his face still, Morgana and Leon were curious, and Freya was smiling widely.   
“Oh yea, Merlin and I go way back. High school was crazy!” Gwaine had a smile plastered on his face and an arm thrown around Merlin’s shoulder. “Till you two left that is.” Freya and Merlin’s smiles dropped. Arthur and Morgana shared a look. Gwaine still had his arm around Merlin, but he didn’t realize what he said. He must not know about their parents, Arthur thought to himself. That gave him a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing something Gwaine did not. The initial jealousy of Gwaine still burned hot in his gut, even when he tried to shove it down.   
“Yea well you know us. We were always on the move.” Merlin shifted from foot to foot, looking anywhere but at Gwaine. His eyes found Arthur’s. They were much softer than he expected. Not that he had ever thought about it. But if he had, he would expect something hard and inhuman.   
“Well now we have to regale this group with our adventures!” Gwaine shepherded Merlin into the chair next to Arthur and began a random story from their school year.   
“Does he not know…?” Arthur asked.  
“Nah. You and Morgana are the only ones that have really ever gotten that out of us. There is something about you Arthur Pendragon that just royally pisses me off.” Merlin smiled softly. Not his usual goofy grin, but something special and much softer.   
“Then he threw the mug at the douche, nail him in the face!” Gwaine’s voice cut through their moment like a knife. Arthur raised his eyebrow.  
“Honestly Merlin, you probably throw like a girl.” Arthur sniped gleefully.  
“Oh, so you’re saying Merls could throw better than you?” Freya added.   
Arthur shot a death glare at Freya.  
“You are all terrible people.” Merlin chuckled and sipped his drink.  
“Oh don’t’ worry Merls, I’m always on your side!” Morgana giggled, slightly tipsy. Though tipsy enough that she leaned over Gwaine and kissed Merlin on the cheek. Merlin’s face instantly became cherry red. Morgana, Freya, and Gwen giggled madly, while Gwaine let out a roar of laughter.  
“Hahaha well Morgana I believe you’d have the best chance of swaying him, but good luck!” Gwaine wheezed. Freya was clutching her side with laughter as she made eye contact with Gwaine.  
“Remember that time the blonde…” She gasped.   
“She was literally on his lap!” He supplied.  
“In the middle of the café.” Merlin shook his head with a grin. “That was absolutely mortifying.”  
“Aww Merlin, you didn’t tell me you were gay,” Morgana pouted.  
“Would it have truly made a difference?” He asked with a wink. His eyes flicked to Leon for a second and he grinned.  
“Oh you shush. Now that I know your preferences, we get to set you up with all sorts of handsome men.” Morgana was grinning when Merlin choked on his drink again.  
“Ha! Don’t worry Merlin, I will protect you from the terrifying woman!” Gwaine threw an arm around Merlin and brandished his ale in the air.  
“No, you had your chance Gwaine. It’s time for Merlin to have a magical new future.” Freya interrupted with a smirk. Merlin sent her a withering glare. The entire debate was giving Arthur mixed feelings. He had no idea why his stomach did an excited flip when he learned about the possibility of being with Merlin, or why it stopped and clenched when Freya brought Merlin and Gwaine’s relationship into the light. There was no way he liked Merlin. He was scrawny, pale, sarcastic, witty, and the most amazingly beautiful blue eyes. Stop! He thought. He had to stop. He glanced around to find the conversation had moved on, but Freya was staring at him. When they made eye contact she smirk and raised an eye brow, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. She winked and turned her attention back to the conversation.   
“So Arthur have you met anyone lately?” Leon asked.  
“Me? Yes definitely. Between class-”  
“Which you don’t go to,” Freya interrupted.  
“Having a babbling idiot run into me-”  
“Who you ran into.” Merlin corrected.  
“And dealing with my father-”  
“Whom you have dealt with for at least a month.” Morgana injected.   
“No Leon. The only thing new are these three idiots.” Arthur finished with a grim expression. The entire table burst into laughter at Arthur’s face of resignation. The rest of the night was much less talk and much more drink. Arthur ended up with a blue eyed blonde hanging off his lap. Gwaine, Merlin, and Leon began an incredibly lengthy conversation with Lancelot, whom they had ran into earlier, until Morgana pulled Merlin into the fray of random dancing. There were people everywhere, by the end they were almost all completely drunk, except Freya and Gwen. When Merlin was perfectly smashed, Freya stealthily removed the blonde from Arthur’s lap and successfully bumped Merlin away from Morgana. He tripped and landed sprawled on Arthur’s lap.  
“Oof. Merlin!” Arthur grumbled.  
“Sorry not all of us are perfect princes such as yourself!” Merlin spat back. He shifted but didn’t get off Arthur’s lap.   
“Yes but most possess more coordination than you do.”   
“I make it up with my wit and good looks.” Merlin said with a grin. Arthur scoffed.  
“I don’t know where you got that information.”   
“Hey, I have it on good authority that my eyes are positively gorgeous!”  
“Well at least they didn’t lie,” Arthur said without thinking, but a second too late, and his eyes widened.  
“Was that a compliment? Arthur Pendragon I never thought I would hear it!” Merlin grinned with disbelief before swinging his head around to look for Freya. She stood at the bar with Gwen. Both were watching with eyebrows raised. Merlin jerked the head to the door and Freya nodded, being their signal to leave. “And Arthur Pendragon, here is your reward for not being a complete and utter clotpole,” Merlin bent his head and captured Arthur’s lips in a delicate kiss. Arthur found his arms wrapping around Merlin automatically, but before he could reciprocate fully, Merlin pulled back. “I will never be able to do that sober. I think your blonde was shooed away by Freya, but I doubt you’ll have trouble getting her back.” Merlin gave him a wink and a smile before easily sliding off Arthur’s lap and squeezing though the crowd.


	17. Chapter 16

As soon as Merlin was out of sight, Arthur was on his feet. The kiss. It was only a kiss. Oh hell, what am I kidding, he thought to himself. It was one hell of a kiss. Arthur had felt something akin to electricity blazing through his veins. It was something completely new and utterly amazing. By the time he pushed through the crowd, Merlin and the girls had disappeared. A long low whistle sounded behind him.   
“Now that was not something I expected.” Morgana stood behind him with a shocked expression on her face.   
“Uh huh,” Arthur was also shocked. That had happened. With Merlin. And he loved it.   
“What are you going to do?”  
“Forget about it. He will. He was drunk, and god knows I am. There is still a possibility I’ll wake up and this will be a dream.” Arthur replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.  
“You don’t seem drunk now?” Morgana asked.   
“That kind of thing really puts one in quite the alert state. I’m going to turn in. Don’t have too much fun.”  
“Actually I met someone. He’s a beauty. I dare say I might go on a date with him.” Morgana smiled wide and gave him a wink. Well life just got extremely interesting, Morgana thought as she watched her love-struck brother walk away.  
***  
The next morning, Merlin woke with a pounding headache. He laid in bed trying to figure out what had happened the night before. He stumbled from his room toward the kitchen, where he could smell a pot of coffee brewing.   
Freya and Gwen were sitting on the kitchen floor, both nursing coffee. Gwen was giggling quietly as Freya held her head and moaned. Merlin grunted his agreement, and joined them on the floor with his own cup. Freya and Gwen glanced at each other and smiled.   
“What?” Merlin asked. Gwen giggled again.  
“Well Merls, what do you remember about late night?” Freya probed. Merlin shrugged.  
“Honestly, the last thing I remember was Morgana making me dance.” Merlin saw flashes of on the night, things getting fuzzier and fuzzier.   
“Oh, I see,” Freya grinned. Merlin gave her a hard look. “You don’t happen to remember shoving your tongue down someone’s throat?” Merlin opened his mouth, then closed it, several times, before turning a violent shade of pink.  
“Whose throat?” He squeaked. Freya just smirked and took a drink. Realization dawned on Merlin. “Oh god no.”   
“Oh yes,” Gaius confirmed, walking into the kitchen. “And from what your dear sister tells me, it was quite a kiss.” He smirked and poured himself a cup.  
“I didn’t.” Merlin looked to Gwen for confirmation. She nodded. “Why?”  
“Oh I don’t know because you’re extremely attracted to him?” Freya said sarcastically.  
“Because he said you had pretty eyes,” Gwen corrected, and then giggled. “You told us all about it on the way home.” Merlin looked at his coffee and frowned.  
“I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t.” Merlin bemoaned.  
“Oh yes he did! You gave him a ‘reward’ for not being a ‘clotpole,’ and then you winked at him.” Freya half cried. Merlin hissed at the noise.  
“Don’t you two have to be at school or something?!” He hissed.  
“Nah we called in ill.” Freya grinned.  
“The both of you?” Merlin asked skeptically. Gwen nodded with a smile on his face. Merlin snorted. A soft knock came from the front door.  
“Come in!” Freya called.  
“That could have been a serial killer, what’s wrong with you,” Merlin hissed as Aithusa walked into the kitchen.  
“Nope just me!” She grinned cheerily. “I wanted to see how you were?”   
“I have a hangover.” Merlin groaned. Aithusa giggled.   
“That’s what happens when you go drinking with Arthur Pendragon.”  
“That’s not all he did with Arthur Pendragon.” Gwen giggled. Merlin turned a pretty shade of pink again.  
“Merls, I think your ears are turning pink. It’s just a kiss love. You’ve kissed Gwaine.” Freya smirked.  
“Oh!” Aithusa squeeled, she sunk to the floor next to Merlin. “Who kissed who?”  
“Merlin initiated, and when he left, poor Arthur looked like a lost puppy.” Gwen giggled.  
“It was because Arthur told him he had pretty eyes.” Freya grinned. Aithusa smiled widely. Merlin groaned into his mug.  
“We are done talking about this. Aithusa dear, do you need me to come in today?”  
“Oh no, but do you think you will be able to tomorrow, about 9?” Aithusa leaned against Merlin’s side.  
“Yes I think so. Arthur doesn’t come in Saturdays does he?”   
“Well it depends on whether he goes out Friday or not.” Merlin groaned. Aithusa patted his head sympathetically and stood.  
“Maybe he won’t remember, do you?” Merlin perked up brightly. “There you go! See you tomorrow. Feel better both of you. Nice to meet you Gwen!” Aithusa was out of the apartment with a swish of her silvery hair.   
“Merlin, Kilgharrah called, he wants you in his office by noon!” Gaius called. Merlin laid on the floor with a groan, seeing that it was already 11.  
\---  
Arthur’s alarm rang at promptly 8 o’clock. He slammed it with his fist in hopes of turning it off. It ended up flying off the nightstand and hitting the floor with a thud, but the ringing did stop. He rolled onto his back with a groan and stretched. He thought back to the night before. Morgana meeting a guy. The sudden appearance of Gwaine, and Merlin. The kiss. Jesus the kiss, he thought. He sat up and looked around the room. It was strangely empty. There wasn’t another human being in the room, which was very unusual, but after that damn kiss he couldn’t. He got dress quickly, taking more time to comb his hair, god forbid if Merlin was working today he had to look somewhat decent, not that it mattered, he had to go to football tryouts first.   
He tried to troll into the shop casually after tryouts, giving no inclination of who he was looking for. The silver haired girl was leaning against the counter with a smile on her face. He quickly glanced around the shop.  
“He’s not here.” She said brightly. Arthur let out a small sigh of relief and the girl giggled. He gave her his best glare but she only laughed harder. “I’m Aithusa, its nice to finally meet you Arthur Pendragon.” She smirked.  
“I’ll have my usual.” Arthur growled. Aithusa smiled.  
“He’ll be in tomorrow at 9.” She said as she brewed the coffee. Arthur grunted. “What are you gonna do?” Arthur sighed and sagged against the counter.  
“I have no idea. How the hell do you know?”   
“I stopped by their place this morning to see how Merlin was. Freya and Gwen told me.” Aithusa slid the coffee across the counter with a soft smile. “Ya know you really aren’t that bad Pendragon. I think if you just go for it, things might work out for the better.” Arthur grunted, but didn’t reply. He handed over a five dollar bill before taking his coffee and sauntering out. As soon as the door closed behind him, Arthur saw Merlin. He was sprinting across campus with his bag and a neckerchief in hand. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips.   
Merlin on the other hand was late. It was almost twelve and he still couldn’t find Kilgharrah’s office. As he ran across campus, he thought he saw the flash of blonde preceding Arthur, but when he turned, it was gone. He found the office soon after that and leaned over panting. He heard a low laugh and looked up to see Kilgharrah leaning against the door frame.  
“Come in young warlock!” Kilgharrah waved him into his office and gestured to the seat across from the desk. “I am hoping these sessions will let me get a hint about your power and help it grow. Today I just want you to do a little bit of basic things, seeing as you are still weak.” They spent an hour levitating pencils and washing dishes. Merlin was beat by the time they were done. “You did wonderful young warlock. I hope to see you next Friday.” Kilgharrah looked back at his paperwork, thoroughly dismissing Merlin. He stood and carried himself out of the office. He didn’t make it very far before he ran into someone, literally. He felt someone grab him and stop his fall.   
“Merlin!” Lance yelled happily. He pulls Merlin back to a vertical position and smiles.  
“Thanks for catching my fall.” Lance laughed.  
“No, it’s my fault. How about you join me for lunch?” He offered. Merlin happily agreed and they soon found themselves outside a campus café. “I love it here. It was always my dream to attend Camelot. I have tried out for the football team and am an official true Knight of Camelot.”  
“Good for you Lance!” Merlin said with a smile.  
“I had to impress the Prince just to get a tryout.” Lance explained.   
“I can only assume you’re talking about Arthur.” Merlin snorted.  
“One of the only reasons I got one is because I happened to mention you.” Merlin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he quickly took a drink to hide his blush. Lance chuckled.   
“You saw?” Merlin asked quietly.   
“Dude, I think everyone saw.” Lance laughed.  
“Fuck!” Merlin threw his head back and groaned. “It would be fine, if I could actually remember it.” Lance chuckled. “Wait, if he thinks that giving you a tryout makes up for spilling my coffee on me, he has another thing coming.”   
“You really don’t remember?”  
“Not at all. Freya and Gwen had to tell me.”  
“Gwen seems nice.” Lance said nonchalantly. Merlin raised an eyebrow.  
“She’s a sweetheart. She’s also single as far as I know.” Lance grinned.   
“So is Arthur.” Merlin sputtered, but didn’t say anything. “The first game is against the Gryphons on Friday. Your friend Gwaine is on the team too. You and Freya should come.”  
“Maybe we’ll bring Gwen.” Merlin grinned. Lancelot smiled and took a bite of the food that had just come. They chatted aimlessly the rest of lunch and left with smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update! I've had the chapter and a few more done for a while just haven't updated :P Please Comment!! I love to hear from you!


	18. Chapter 17

Merlin rolled out of bed at 8 on the dot. He quickly showered and got dressed for work, thinking about his conversation with Freya. At 8:30 he peaked his head in her room and found her awake, practicing magic. He smiled at the sight of her gold eyes.   
“Hey Friday is the first football game, Lance invited us. Gwaine is on the team too.”  
“We’ll be there!” Freya said with a grin.  
“Invite Gwen, I think Lance has a crush.” Freya purred with excitement.  
“Good because I think she does too. Have fun at work, I’ll stop by later.” Merlin waved goodbye and slipped out the door. He arrived five to nine and found the shop in full swing, with a line several people long.  
“Merlin! I hope you’re ready.” Aithusa half yelled from behind the counter. Merlin got to work quickly, throwing himself into the work. He made coffee quickly as Aithusa took money and stacked up the orders. They worked well together, moving quickly. It was nearly 10:30 before the rush ended. Merlin sagged against the counter.  
“Holy crap is it always this busy on Saturday morning?” Merlin asked as the door opened.  
“Nah mate, it was because all the muscly footie players just ended the scrimmage.” Gwaine’s voice floated through the room. He was covered in mud, head to toe.  
“Stop right there!” Aithusa shrieked. “Take those shoes off of turn right back around!” Gwaine held up his hands and obliged.   
“Gwaine is that you under all that mud?” Merlin asked with glee. Lancelot popped up behind Gwaine, perfectly clean.   
“You should have seen it!” He grinned. “He took a header right into Arthur and they both went into the mud.” Merlin and Aithusa both laughed.  
“Come in, but if you get mud on my floor, you will clean it up Sir Gwaine.” Aithusa said sternly. Gwaine and Lance both chuckled and took a seat. The door opened again and Arthur stood in the doorway, also covered in mud, but he had tried to get it out of his hair, leaving it a mess of streaked mud and blonde tangles. Merlin doubled over, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. Aithusa tried to keep from laughing, but ended up just like Merlin.   
“Gwaine,” Arthur bit out.  
“Yea your highness?” Gwaine answered brightly.   
“I said I wanted to speak with you.” Arthur said calmly.  
“Well I wanted to speak with Merlin.” Gwaine answered indignantly. Arthur glanced at Merlin, who blushed almost immediately and averted his eyes.   
“I am your-”  
“Prince?” Merlin interrupted with a grin.   
“Captain,” Arthur bit out.   
“How about iced coffee for everyone?” Aithusa suggested soothingly.  
“That sound fantastic my dove,” Gwaine said suavely. Aithusa blushed. Merlin snorted and shook his head, grinning. “What?” Gwaine asked innocently.  
“Always the flirt.” Gwaine just shrugged. “You two look ridiculous,” Merlin chuckled. Arthur had taken off his shoes and sat in the seat next to Gwaine, but he carefully avoided Merlin’s eyes.   
“Says you! Remember when we went to the beach!”   
“Not the same.”   
“How so?” Gwaine asked indignantly.  
“Well for one, you pushed me off a cliff.” Lance and Arthur both looked at Gwaine, who rolled his eyes.  
“It was a tiny cliff. Mr. I regularly throw myself into the nearest and greatest danger possible.” Gwaine scoffed.  
“I only do that sometimes.” Merlin tried to defend.  
“Like now,” Aithusa said unhelpfully. Merlin gave her his best glare.  
“Merlin what did you do?” Arthur said sternly.  
“Absolutely nothing. Aithusa can attest I did nothing.” Merlin said forcefully. Aithusa grinned and nodded, now trying to agree with him. Arthur didn’t believe them for a second, but he let it drop. He would find out what Merlin was hiding though. Aithusa handed them all their iced mochas and she and Merlin took seats side by side on the counter.  
“So Lance says you’re coming to the game Friday.” Gwaine said brightly. Arthur gave Lancelot a sharp look, but didn’t say anything.  
“Oh yea. Frey and Gwen are too. Lance just can’t seem to get enough of Guinevere.” Merlin teased. Aithusa giggled. They chatted amiably for almost half an hour, Merlin and Arthur quickly falling into the habits of banter. Arthur left first, claiming a shower, which Merlin tried not to think about. Lance went soon after, wanting even more practice for the game. Gwaine didn’t leave. He sat in his chair, making fun of Merlin like he had when they went to high school.   
“So Pendragon,” Gwaine mused when the shop was clear. Aithusa flashed him a grin when Merlin hit his head on the counter.  
“Jesus was there a school bulletin?” He grumbled.  
“Might as well have been, right in the middle of the Rising Sun mate.” Gwaine laughed. He tried not to let the sad smile settle onto his face, but he couldn’t help it. It was Merlin, there always has been and always will be that soft spot.   
“I was drunk. I don’t even remember it.” Merlin groaned.   
“Oh that must help the princesses ego.” Gwaine grinned. The door opened and Professor Nimueh breezed into the café. Merlin felt her presence hit him like a brick. It was cold, dark, and horribly familiar.  
“Merlin!” She exclaimed. “Your sister said you were ill!” Merlin forced himself to breathe as she glided up to the counter.   
“I… uh… I was. It was just a twenty-four hour bug I guess.” Merlin shrugged. Nimueh looked sympathetic.   
“Well your sister gave you your assignments right?” Merlin nodded. “Good, be prepared for class Monday,” she said brightly. “I’ll have a single shot 20 oz. vanilla mocha please.”  
“I will be, Aithusa will ring you up.” Merlin let Aithusa by him, but he kept one eye on Nimueh. She was soon out of the shop with a smile and Merlin sank to the floor.  
“Bloody hell she was gorgeous.” Gwaine whistled. “Think if I asked her out she’s say yes?” He asked the room in general.  
“Nah she’s a professor. You okay Merls?” Aithusa asked worriedly.  
“Yea I’m good, she just gives me the heebie jeebies.” He met Aithusa’s eyes and tried to convey what he learned.   
“Damn, well I better go.” Gwaine stood with a grin and waved his way out of the shop.  
“Merlin what’s wrong?” Aithusa bent down.  
“It was her.” He breathed.  
“You mean?” Aithusa asked shocked. Merlin nodded. “But she’s a professor!” She exclaimed.  
“Well then I guess she’s the Professor Umbridge of the staff.” Merlin joked, but he took a deep breath and tried to calm his heart. She had been so close and he had felt the power and fury beneath the surface. “I have to tell Freya.” He said.  
“Tell me what?” Freya peaked over the edge of the counter. Merlin and Aithusa yelled in shock. Freya giggled. “I told you I’d be stopping by later. Now tell me what?”  
“My kidnapper. It’s Profesor Nimueh.”


	19. Chapter 18

Freya cursed. “I knew something wasn’t right with her! I felt it when I got your homework.”  
“Well what are we going to do?” Aithusa asked worriedly.   
“What can we do against a distinguished art professor? You have to avoid her as much as possible Merlin. Always have someone with you. No being alone.” Freya said forcefully.  
“Fuck, fine.” Merlin resigned himself to a bodyguard at all times. It was generally Freya or Morgana, but during other classes and work, Merlin would find Lancelot, Aithusa or Gwaine. The week passed with more anticipation toward the game than Merlin’s dilemma. They had told Gaius, but he could do about as much as they could, but he was working on it.   
Merlin only saw Arthur when he was working, so it left little to conversation, but it seemed that Freya, Morgana, and Gwen were attached at the hips. Merlin would come home from work and find them giggling in Freya’s room.   
The morning of the game, Merlin woke early for classes. They all went fairly slow, as Lance was too nervous to talk much and Morgana was working on a new art project. When he met with Kilgharrah, Merlin shared his new insight to his kidnapper, but Kilgharrah just sighed.   
“I should have known. I try to hire a bit more magic in the staff and end up picking the bad seed. I’m glad I didn’t tell her about you.” Kilgharrah let him go early, claiming he had a lot to think about. The air was chilly as Merlin walked to his car.  
Freya and Gwen were ready at the door when he arrived. They attacked him and outfitted him in all red and gold attire, giving him a small hand held flag that read Lancelot.   
“Why do I get the Lancelot flag?” He grumbled. “Shouldn’t dear Gwen take it?” He smirked. Gwen looked affronted, but Freya giggled.   
“We pick up on things like that Gwen, but if that was how this worked, you would be getting the Arthur flag Merls.” Merlin turned red and didn’t argue anymore. Morgana arrived about an hour later, dressed in her own red and gold, toting the Arthur flag. Freya’s read Leon, and Gwen’s said Gwaine.  
“Oh fantastic, we’re all ready?” Morgana said happily.   
“Don’t forget me!” Gaius said, coming out of his room, with a new red robe-thing on.  
“Ah we couldn’t Gaius.” Morgana said with a smile. Gaius smiled happily and they all climbed into the car. It was almost dark when they entered the stadium. The crowd was huge in anticipation for the game.   
When it began they all cheered, even though Merlin had no idea what was going on. Morgana had to quickly whisper some basic pointers in his ear. Merlin refused to let his eyes draw to Arthur, no matter how much they wanted to. As team captain he was muscular and absolutely gorgeous, not that Merlin was looking. Freya jabbed his side with her elbow.  
“Maybe don’t forecast so much?” She said with a smirk. He blushed and ignored her, focusing on Gwaine, which bad idea. Things had ended badly, with Freya and Merlin just disappearing. Lance. Lance was perfectly fine. For the next hour or more, Merlin kept his focus on Lance, even when he caught Arthur’s eye, he quickly turned away from the smirk. With minutes left in the game, the Gryphons were up by one point. Arthur managed to get one in, tying it up, but it looked practically hopeless until Lance. He kicked the ball between the feet of the forward and sent it to Gwaine, who couldn’t get a shot, so he sent it back to Lance, where he effectively sent it into the goal. The crowd erupted in cheers as the game ended, Knights on top. Morgana hugged Merlin hard, yelling with the masses. The teams both dispersed to the locker rooms, and the crowd dispersed to their cars. Several people stood around waiting for their player. The knights ran out first, showered and changed. Arthur led the way, a big grin on his face. Merlin gave him a matching grin. He scanned the crowd, finding Gwaine easily, who was sprinting towards him, but Lancelot was missing. Gwaine tackled Merlin in a hug, who was too busy looking for Lance to notice the incoming danger. They both went down, with Gwaine landing on top of him.   
“Well this brings back memories.” Gwaine said cheekily. Freya and Gwen both laughed. Merlin shook his head, and pushed the man off of him.   
“Well Gwaine all ya had to do was say something.” Merlin said sassily. Morgana snorted. Arthur had just reached the group.  
“Well it looks like you really can’t keep on both feet.” Arthur grinned at Merlin.  
“Well not everyone’s feet are as big as yours.” Merlin scoffed. The girls burst into laughter, and Arthur hardly suppressed his smirk. Gwaine just gave Merlin the look of shame. Merlin just hung his head. He quickly got to his feet. “Ya know what, where’s Lance?” Arthur looked around confused.   
“I don’t know. He was right behind us.”   
“I’m gonna go find him.” Merlin set of at a brisk pace, not waiting for an answer. Freya laughed as he walked away.   
“That wasn’t awkward. Talked to him about the kiss yet?” She nudged Arthur, whose attention was thoroughly fixed on Merlin’s backside.  
“What?” He asked. Gwen and Morgana both laughed.  
“Dude, you got it bad.” Gwaine shook his head.   
“I do not!” Arthur said indignantly.  
“Uh huh. I know the look you get when you fall head over heels for that one. And you got it.” Arthur turned to his sister for backup, but she just shook her head.   
*  
Merlin walked around the side of the changing rooms and froze. Lance was surrounded by three of the biggest Gryphon players. They all turned to him as he walked around the corner.  
“Merlin walk away.” Lance said seriously. Merlin just shook his head. Lance sighed, but quickly swung out, catching one of the players by surprise. Merlin grabbed one before he could get to Lance and used a little extra magic help to send him into the wall. His head connected with the brick, and knocked him out cold. The third, sensing Merlin to be a bigger threat, advanced. He took a swing before Merlin saw him coming. He felt his lip split with the contact and was knocked off balance. Lance hit his assailant with a garbage lid, sending him to the ground, and turned in time to see Merlin’s eyes turn gold and a ball of light explode from his palm, hitting the Gryphon square in the face. Merlin fell to the ground, his lip bleeding heavily. Lance rushed to his side and checked him for other wounds.   
“Lance, how are you? Are you hurt?” Merlin asked seriously.  
“Merlin what did you do?” Lance whispered hoarsely.  
“I didn’t do anything.” Merlin said indignantly.  
“I saw the light, I saw your eyes. Did you do magic?” Lance asked.  
“How do you know about magic?” Lance grinned.  
“It’s not as underground as you think. I knew a girl in high school who practiced.”   
“Are you going to tell anyone?” Merlin asked nervously. Lance shook his head.  
“No. Your secret is safe with me? And Freya’s I’m assuming?” Merlin nodded. Lance held out a hand and pulled Merlin to his feet. He laughed and took in Merlin with new eyes. “You wouldn’t know to look at you, but that was fantastic,” Lance laughed and threw and arm around Merlin, leading him back to the field. Merlin laughed, relaxing into the feeling that someone knew. They rounded the corner and Lance waved to the group. When they got close enough, Freya shrieked.  
“Merlin you face!” She yelled, running forward. He waved her off.  
“Frey I’m fine.” Lance grinned at the group.  
“Don’t worry, we just got into a small tussle with some Gryphons. Merlin kicked arse!” Gwaine shook his head.   
“You really truly find the most danger.” Merlin grinned, opening his lip, making it bleed more. Arthur grabbed his chin and held it up, putting a rag on the cut.  
“Honestly Merlin.” Arthur shook his head.  
“Don’t honestly Merlin me.” Merlin said through the rag. The group tried to make normal conversation while keeping an eye on Merlin and Arthur, who was cleaning Merlin’s cut. Why Gaius kept a first aid kit, Merlin will never know. “Because you are a clumsy idiot.” Arthur answered, because apparently Merlin said that out loud.  
“Shall we go to the Rising Sun to celebrate Lance’s victory?” Morgana said enthusiastically when Arthur finished Merlin’s lip.  
“Yes and you can introduce us to the man you can’t seem to stop talking too.” Merlin teased.   
“Merlin, if you continue to talk, you’re going to split your lip again.” Arthur sighed. Merlin scoffed and rolled his eyes. They all began to walk to the pub, but Merlin pulled Freya to the back of the group.  
“Lance knows.” He whispered.  
“Merlin Balenor Emrys!” She shrieked. The group looked back, but Merlin smiled and waved them forward. Lance noticed Freya looking at him and swung back.  
“I assume this is about me?” Lance asked sheepishly.  
“Yes it is. Lancelot de Luc, if you tell anyone, I swear to the great dragons I’ll-”  
“I won’t I swear!” Lance held his hands up in surrender. Freya gave him one final death glare before they ran to catch up with the group. As they approached the Rising Sun, Merlin noticed a tall dark haired figure leaning just outside the door. Morgana’s face lit up as she saw him. Must be the boyfriend, Merlin thought. Freya’s eyes narrowed as the man’s face came into the light, and a shiver went up Merlin’s spine. He knew him from somewhere. Morgana ran up to him and took him hand in hers.  
“Guys this is Mordred.” She exclaimed gleefully. There was a chorus of hellos from the group. Mordred gave them all a sly smirk.  
“It’s a please to meet you all, Morgana won’t shut up about you.” His crystal clear blue eyes practically dug into Merlin’s skull.   
“I wish we could say the same, she’s actually been rather secretive,” Arthur practically grunted. Mordred smirked again and they all filed into the bar. Merlin and Freya sat at the usual table and didn’t move for most of the night. Everyone was dancing and laughing and having a grand time, but they kept an eye on Mordred. He had introduced Morgana to all of his friends and they had all been inseperable through the night. About an hour into the night, Lance plopped down next to the pair. He had left Gwen dancing with Arthur.  
“If I didn’t know the two of you, I would say you were spying,” Lancelot joked.  
“We are,” Freya said bluntly.   
“There’s something wrong about him,” Merlin explained.   
“Well yea, we can all see he’s kind of a punk-” Lance started.  
“No something wrong in the other sense,” Freya interrupted.   
“Oh.” Lance said with a nod. He didn’t hang around much longer, instead going to collect Gwen. Arthur came over next and followed the gazes of the pair.  
“I don’t like him either. He gives me the creeps.” He said softly. Freya and Merlin both looked at him oddly. “It’s like every time he looks at me I get a shiver down my spine, and not a good shiver.” Freya snorted.  
“Trust you to be able to pick up on it,” she grinned. Another person sits across the table and they all look over to find the silver haired Aithusa. She smiled warmly at them.  
“I understand you could use some backup?” she asked. Freya smiled and nodded. Arthur didn’t leave the table as they all talked through the night. Leon joined them soon, and eventually Morgana swayed over, saying she was leaving with Mordred and his friends. She waved goodbye and then she was gone.   
“Well I guess that means we can leave.” Leon said sadly. He looked after Morgana sadly. Merlin just shook his head.  
“You okay there Leon?” Arthur asked, eyebrow raised. Everyone knew, but they all pretended they didn’t, for Leon’s sake. Merlin stood up and stretched. His shirt peaked over his bones and Arthur quickly focused on Leon, who just smirked.  
“Well we are off!” Merlin proclaimed. He and Freya collected Gwen, waved goodbye, and they were gone.


End file.
